A Friend In Need
by operationDaalek
Summary: Alec and Ellie slowly discover what exactly it is that they mean to each other and continue to be there selflessly for each other through the aftermath of the cases and more importantly, the changes throughout their lives.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: Hello, whoever is reading this! I'm new here, so if you don't mind, please tell me what you think of this through the reviews. That's pretty much all I have to say for now. This is going to be an ongoing story, so here's chapter 1. I decided not to give the chapters titles because I felt like either it would spoil the enjoyment of the chapter itself, or I would run out of inspiration for titles halfway and then not be able to keep it consistent. So...there it is, Chapter 1. Enjoy (:_

Alec stared up at the steep slope towering up before him. The mere sight of it nearly sent his heart into overdrive, but he steeled himself. "I can do this. I'm not an invalid," he thought stubbornly to himself and started the tough climb upwards. Several times he had to stop and rest, gasping for breath, but he made it in the end.

He shoved his hands in his pockets, squinting out into the horizon and letting his thoughts wander. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath of the refreshing, salty sea breeze. This was where everything had started, with Danny's case, and he thought back a little on how life had been ever since that day.

Obviously not _good_. No, no, very far from _good_. In fact, if anyone else had been in his place, they would have nearly committed suicide, driven insane by the amount of horseshit life had been throwing at him.

But Alec Hardy was a stubborn man, and he gritted his teeth and fought through nonetheless, although admittedly his methods of persevering hadn't exactly been the brightest. Like escaping from the hospital before the doctors could get the pacemaker fine-tuned, for instance. His cardiologist nearly had a heart attack herself when she discovered what he'd done. Or the whole thing about the Sandbrook case and his shit plan. He winced at the onslaught of a major cringe attack when he thought about it. As he let the darkest moments tumble through his thoughts, he sat himself down on the grass and took another deep breath, trying to force the thoughts to the back of his mind.

Then there was Ellie Miller.

She had been more than a little chafed at the fact that he'd "stolen" her job, and he didn't blame her. The only thing he was mad at was that she didn't really take it professionally at first and they didn't really manage to get along well, what with the rough start. But they had grown a small degree closer along the way, with those occasional confessions when they felt like they could trust each other. It wasn't like they had anyone else anyway. Worst cop in Britain, and the detective who let a child murderer walk free. Who would want to talk to them after that happened? But then who would believe the truth anyway?

It didn't matter. Although he did not show it outwardly (he wasn't the soppy type), he was well and truly thankful that she had crossed his path. They had been a pillar of support to each other, even though it was in a rather strange way, because they didn't actually openly admit it to each other but complied to requests for favours in the grumpiest way possible. But they both knew. They both knew that after such a shitty life, they were all they had in this world.

He closed his eyes and sighed, admitting to himself that Ellie really had brightened up his life quite a bit, just like that stupid orange coat she wore that nearly fried his eyeballs out every time he saw it.

And today, not only was he going to admit it to himself. He was going to tell her.

After a long debate with himself the previous night, he had come to the conclusion that it was only right that he let her know how much she was appreciated. Friends don't just love each other and not say it, he decided. They let each other know. And he was going to do it first. _Because I can't let her go on thinking I'm a grumpy git any longer,_ he thought. _I might be a knob on the outside but contrary to popular belief, I do still have a soft spot, and I'm going to prove her wrong._

"Alec!" He nearly jumped out of his skin and turned around, eyes wide. He could feel his heart rate rising. _Shit._

Luckily, he wasn't startled enough to trigger an episode. "What the heck?! You could have literally scared me to death!" he bellowed, and then stopped. It was Ellie.

She crossed her arms. "I could say the same about you! How'd you get up here?"

"I flew."

"Oh sure you did. Stop being such a sarcastic wanker. You know you're not supposed to climb up here, what with your heart being a jerk and all. When are you ever going to be responsible for your own health?!" she scolded with all the ferocity of a frustrated mother.

"And you? What are you doing here?" he interrogated in turn.

"I came up for a stroll. Work's driving me insane."

"Oh." There wasn't much he could say after that, so he just shoved his hands back into his pockets and turned his back on her.

"Oi. You're just going to ignore me like that?" she called after him. "Let's get you back to your hotel. Come on. You should be resting, especially since you just had the pacemaker adjusted."

"'S fine, I don't want to interrupt your stroll," he mumbled, a little guiltily now.

She stomped over to him and tugged on his right arm. "Let's go. Stop being stubborn, you of all people should be taking care of your health."

He stalled for a second, then followed her, trying to pull his arm free but giving up in the end. A mother's grip is usually very difficult to escape from.

In the car, there was nothing but silence. Alec stared out the window, his thoughts racing through his mind like the scenery past the window, only much faster. Finally, he turned to face Ellie. "'M sorry for just now," he apologized, grumpily but heavily loaded with sincerity. She said nothing. The words hung in the air awkwardly. "Fine," he groused. "If you're going to make me more awkward than I already am, be that way." He turned to stare out the window again.

When more silence reigned, he started to worry a little. Perhaps he really had caused more worry to her than intended. "Millahr?" he probed, his nervousness bringing out his Scottish accent more than usual. "I'm really sorry, I really didn't mean to worry you." No answer, just more quiet, concentrated driving. He started to panic slightly. "Look, don't ignore me, I'm sorry, I promise I will try to look after my health more in future, okay? Just…don't-" He stopped short when he detected the slightest hint of a glint in her eye and just the tiniest curl, ever so slight, at the corner of her mouth.

He groaned. "Grow up, will ya?" he pleaded as Ellie burst out laughing, struggling to concentrate on driving at the same time.

She didn't need to look at him to know that he was rolling his eyes at her. Again.


	2. Chapter 2

After he finished rolling his eyes at Ellie, he thought of how to bring up the topic without seeming too awkward. He felt like a 15-year-old about to profess his undying love to the object of his affections.

Right now, though, he just wanted to let Ellie know how much he appreciated her, nothing else. But it was way beyond him. He wasn't the soppy sort of guy, and Ellie wouldn't have expected him to say what came out of his mouth next.

"Just wanted to let ya know, thanks for being there for me all this while."

She almost drove off the road.

It came out as a confused mumble, and he immediately regretted. _But then again,_ he thought, _I've opened up to her so many times. She knows the Mr Soft Guy side of me. Well, sort of. So…what's there to be embarrassed about?_ He tried reassuring himself with this, but seeing her grip on the steering wheel tighten and then relax, he started working himself up into an inner frenzy all over again. Then she smiled softly and turned to him. "No problem. Right back at you."

He smiled back, enjoying the moment. Right then and there he felt like they could have known each other for years, they could even have been childhood friends. Then he snapped back to reality. "Keep your bloody eyes on the road, dammit!" he yelped in horror. Ellie jumped. "Don't _do_ that! I could have done something like jam brake or lose control and we could all have died because of that!" she snapped. More silence ensued.

Later, Ellie missed the turning to the hotel where he was staying.

"Hey, what are…?" he began, but was cut off by her reply. "You're invited to dinner at my place."

He sighed. "Not a choice, I suppose?"

"Nope."

The second Alec set foot in the house, he was enthusiastically greeted by Fred.

"Yay! Uncle Alec!" Fred cheered, clinging on to his trousers as if his life depended on it. "Look, truck!" He pointed in the general direction of the sofa where he had messily parked his entire collection of toy trucks and cars, then attempted unsuccessfully to drag Alec to the living room. "See my truck," he protested when Alec made no move. He just stood there, smiling benignly. After a short while, he ruffled Fred's curls. "Would wee Fred like a piggyback ride? Hm?" The answer was a bout of violent head nodding, and that was enough. Alec crouched down so that the toddler could climb on his back, then secured Fred's legs under his arms. He slowly stood up, and Fred laughed, excited to be so high up in the air. They horsed around for a long time, playing and laughing, and Ellie, hearing their giggles from the kitchen where she was making dinner, smiled to herself.

It reminded her of the times before Joe made her life fall to shit, when he had been an excellent father, so loving and gentle towards Tom, guiding him carefully throughout the years, and then so caring when Fred was born. She couldn't resist peeking out of the kitchen into the living room. The sight of Fred and Alec rolling around on the floor in a tangle of limbs, Fred trying to escape his tickly fingers, reminded her of Joe's favourite prank on the children; waiting until they came out of their hiding places during a game of hide-and-seek, wondering why Dad had taken so long to find them, then attacking their sides with merciless tickling. Their family had been perfect until he- well.

She snapped back to reality as she realised he shouldn't be getting too excited, because of his heart. "Hey!" she called out. "Enough with the horseplay, or Fred will get hyperactive and won't leave me in peace tonight!" They stopped, lying on the floor, still giggling occasionally at the memory of just now. Fred clambered up and clung to Ellie's legs. "Hungry. Dinner, Mummy?" he requested with a forceful beating on her legs with his tiny fists. "Yes, yes. Ready in a minute. Go call Tom," she instructed, and he toddled off in a quest to find his big brother.

Alec picked himself off the floor somewhat sheepishly, dusting off his crumpled suit. "I'll help with setting the table," he mumbled and went off to find the cutlery. "Nah, no need for that, I can manage," she protested, but it was too late. He had already gotten hold of a bunch of forks and was making his way around the table. She relented and went back into the kitchen, re-appearing with a giant pot of pasta. "Dinner!" she announced. Tom appeared, sleepy-eyed and a trifle grumpy. "I'm not hungry, Mum. I'll eat dinner later." He vanished back into his room. Ellie sighed. "He's been keeping away from me…our relationship hasn't exactly been mending that quickly," she admitted, more to herself than anyone else.

Fred sat banging his spoon on his plate, laughing. "Drum! Mummy, look, drum!" he yelled as the incessant noise continued. "Shut it!" Ellie snapped. He stopped, his expression going from excited to scared in a split second. "Sorry Mummy," he whispered, his eyes getting bigger and bigger. She lowered her head in frustration. "I'm sorry, Fred. Mummy didn't mean to snap at you. But you really were being very noisy, you know," she added, in her defence. "Hey Fred," said Alec, trying to coax him to finish his food on his own and in peace. "Shall we have a race? First one to finish gets a sweet from Mummy. How about that?" He looked in Ellie's direction. Fred laughed in agreement. She couldn't disagree, and they both started their food race.

"Got any more cases you've been working on lately?" Alec asked, just to break the silence.

"Nope, not at the moment. I've finished the ones I needed to do from yesterday so I could have some free time today," she replied, shovelling a mouthful of pasta in her mouth.

"Right." He took a deep breath. "I'm going out tonight and you are coming with me."

She choked on her food. _"What?_ Where to, though?" she asked when she had finished coughing.

"River side. I haven't been there in a while. We might as well go take a nice stroll there," he replied gruffly.

Ellie smiled inwardly. "Why?"

"It's called a fuckin' _date,_ Millahr," he half growled. "For heaven's sake, of all the…" His voice trailed off as he muttered something else unintelligible.

"Sure, why not?" She finally decided to put the poor man out of his misery. "I'll get Tom to babysit."

"Mind you, it's not a romantic date or anything, it's just, you know, a _friends' night out,_ yes, it's…you know." He hastily tried to redeem himself and stumbled over his own words, eventually giving up. "Whatever, you know what I meant," he grumped. "I WIINN!" screamed Fred, his cheeks bulging with food. Alec jumped. "What the hell," he began, then closed his mouth in horror. "Hey! Don't swear around my kids!" scolded Ellie. "Yeah, as if you don't swear around them at home either," he rebutted. "Fine. Point taken. Come on Fred, let's get you a sweet."

 _A/N: I hope you liked chapter 2. Just some clarification, I really didn't intend for it to be a romantic date. It's just a night out like normal friends would have. Don't overthink…for now ;) (just kidding. Or am I?) Anyway, please let me know what you think of this in the reviews. Thanks!_


	3. Chapter 3

Neither of them said much.

There wasn't really much to say. And Alec, being the awkward guy that he usually was, felt the situation growing worse and worse. The silence rang in his ears and he subconsciously shoved his hands into his pockets. He tried to distract himself by studying his shoes as he walked, not wanting to let the awkwardness grow on him.

 _This was a terrible idea,_ he thought. _How did I manage to get myself stuck in this situation in the first place?_

Ellie, on the other hand, was perfectly content and happy. The scenery by the river was breathtaking, and all was quiet and peaceful. She was in good humour and studied Alec's every move with a tinge of amusement, knowing perfectly well that he was feeling extremely awkward and that she could easily rescue him at any time, but the mischievous streak in her didn't want to. She stole small glances at him out of the corner of her eye, trying not to smirk. Eventually, feeling slightly bad for wanting to laugh at him, she turned to face the scenery, taking a moment to appreciate the wonders of nature.

It reminded her of the first date she and Joe had ever had. He'd brought her to the park, and they had strolled along, laughing and chatting, and then after that they had gone to this exact same river. At the end of the path, they had spotted a bench and spent the next hour or so just sitting on it and watching the sunset, cuddled up next to each other. The sunset that day looked exactly like the one now; the vermillion sun casting a golden shower of sparks across the water and slowly retiring behind the city skyline. A pang pierced through her heart as the sights resurfaced old memories best left forgotten. Abruptly, she stopped walking.

"What is it? What's wrong?" asked Alec in some concern, glad to have found a distraction to cure his awkwardness. "Nothing." Ellie winced.

"Well, clearly there's something wrong," he insisted.

"Now you know how frustrating it can be when I try to help and you don't tell me," she teased in return, soliciting a groan from him. "This is how it feels."

"For heaven's sake, Millahr, just tell me."

"I don't think you would be able to help much…" Her voice trailed off. "It's just that this reminded me so much of when Joe-" She broke off and couldn't bring herself to continue. She could feel the tears springing up in her eyes, but willed herself not to let them spill out. Despite her best efforts, though, a single tear streaked down her left cheek.

Alec became alarmed. "No, no, don't…do that," he faltered, and not knowing what to say or do, he suddenly pulled her into a tight hug. She choked out a sob.

All the rage, all the anger, all the fear when Joe haunted her dreams, all the disappointment and stress and shock that she'd been holding back since that day came flooding out now, a myriad of emotions spilling out through her tears. Every single bit of negativity she'd felt all along was released, and she cried until she had neither strength nor tears to continue.

He gently guided her to a bench nearby and sat down, holding her, rubbing her back in circles, just doing his best to comfort her. He didn't say anything. Words of comfort are not always necessary, but actions speak louder than words. All along, she had been there for him when he needed help, she had been the strong pillar of support in his life, but tonight, it was his turn. The pillar was crumbling, and although he couldn't undo what had been done, the least he could do was be there for her.

At last her sobbing subsided into occasional sniffles and she looked up at him. "Sorry for ruining your shirt," she apologized. "I don't know what came over me…"

"Nah, it's fine," he reassured her. "A ruined shirt is the least of anyone's problems now. Hey, do you want to talk about it? About…you know. Whatever you were thinking about that made you break down like that."

"Well…I guess I have been holding back for too long with no proper outlet for my feelings," she admitted. "And the sunset…I don't know. Something about tonight just reminded me of how Joe and I used to get along so well…the perfect life…before it turned to shit."

Alec sighed. "I know exactly what you mean." He thought about Tess and Daisy and didn't know how to comfort her because he was very much in need of comforting himself. "But just know that if you want to talk it out…I'm here," he added softly. She smiled through her tears and pulled him into a tight hug. "Thanks," she said and buried her head in his chest. "Now, we'd better be off. I'll drive you back," she offered, to which he agreed.

"What the hell?!"

Ellie could have heard his infuriated, confused yell from China.

"It's been ransacked! My room's been ransacked!" he stormed around, panicking. Ellie could not resist a giggle and he glared at her. "What's so funny about having your hotel room raided and whatever little you have left taken away from you?!"

"Nothing," she laughed. "Except the fact that maybe the culprit could have made a wiser decision and chosen a victim of a more favourable occupation?"

It hit him, and then he slapped his own forehead. "Of course. I'm the bloody police!" Even he had the urge to smile. "But I can't stay here anymore."

"You can stay at my house just for tonight, and I'll book you a room somewhere else. You can leave in the morning," Ellie suggested and back home they went.

 _A/N: Sorry it's a little short, because I got distracted by a new idea for the next chapter so I wanted to end this in such a way that I can continue with the idea for the next chapter properly. Anyway, I hope you like it so far (: I've still got a long way to go, and it isn't going to be any less than 10 chapters, that much I can guarantee…_


	4. Chapter 4

Ellie yawned and walked down the stairs, stretching. It was early, about 6am, but she needed to get to the office earlier than usual. She threw a quick glance at the clock and made herself a cup of tea. Sighing in frustration and ignoring the nagging headache that refused to leave her alone, she started up the engine and drove both her and Alec to the office, the latter having waited impatiently all night because his pacemaker made him feel like he was running a marathon the entire night and he hadn't gotten a wink of sleep.

Once there, she groggily followed Alec to his office. They had to discuss some case files together.

After a long, tiring morning of working through the tricky files, Ellie suddenly felt weary. She needed to walk around, give her legs a stretch. "I'll be right back, I need to use the loo," she said and left.

When she came back, the door was locked, and no matter how hard she knocked, there was no answer.

She started to get a little worried. What if his heart had decided to give out on him while she was away? And why had he locked the bloody door?

"Alec, are you alright in there?" she called through the keyhole.

He looked up from his desk and put on his glasses. He had fallen asleep while waiting for her, partly because he hadn't been able to sleep and partly because from the look of this case they were working on, it didn't look like he was about to get any sleep for months to come anyway. His shirt was partly unbuttoned, his tie was loose around his neck, and his hair was a mess. He cleared his throat. "Come in, Miller."

"It's locked, you knob." She rattled the handle and rubbed her temples, the headache clutching her head in its vicious fingers. "I just need to clarify some other stuff and that's all, we'll be done for today. Please, just hurry, I have a lot to do," she sighed.

He let out an impatient sigh and stood slowly, kneading the raised flesh of the pacemaker's surgery scar as he made his way to the door. The lock clicked open, and he held the door open for her. "What else is there?" he asked, shoving his hands into his pockets, and looked at her intently.

She dragged her chair over, ignoring his gaze. "Sit," she ordered despite the fact that he was her boss, and they tied up some other loose ends.

A few minutes later, they finished at last, and Ellie shut the files with a satisfied sigh. Then she seemed to remember something.

"What time will we be finished with the recreation of the murder?" She tried to look at him, but couldn't help lowering her gaze after a while. It was just too hard to make eye contact with him, especially when he was looking at her like that. Somehow, she found it rather…intense.

He took a sip of the hot drink she had brought him, his gaze not leaving hers. "I'm not sure. We should be done about 10pm, I think. And don't forget, you have to go back to the office to finish the other case files," he reminded her.

"Oh, blimey. I'd forgotten about that." She blew air into her cheeks, letting it out in a frustrated hiss. "I'll have to ask Tom to pick Fred up after school then. Poor Fred," she added, feeling sorry for him and guilty for not spending enough time with him, not to mention her ruined relationship with Tom. At least she had Tom to take care of Fred when she wasn't around. She was having so much trouble managing on her own and the multiple cases she was working on had been taking the piss out of her lately. A smile crossed her face as she realised that the only reason she had managed to survive so far was that she had her own close-knit circle of friends who thankfully stuck by her side no matter what.

She snapped back to reality. "Well…I'll be seeing you later then," she ended awkwardly and turned to leave.

"Wait, um, Millahr." He shoved his hands back into his pockets and turned towards her. "I've only got a bit of paperwork to do. And remember, you'll have to be there earlier than I have to. I could pick Fred up for you, if you like," he offered, shoving his hands in his pockets and looking down at the ground, shuffling his feet awkwardly.

"Really?" She turned around, grinning in relief. "If it doesn't trouble you too much, it's fine. Thank you _so_ much!" she replied emphatically and walked out the door, not wanting to make him more awkward than he already felt. "Oh. Oops." She stopped in her tracks as she realised she was still holding the case files she wasn't supposed to be taking back. Sheepishly, she rushed back inside and popped them on his desk. "Here. I forgot to leave these."

He smiled slightly as she set them down, then grabbed his coat. _Hang the paperwork, I can do that at home,_ he thought. He called for a cab, then went to pick up Fred and instructed the driver to go to the murder recreation scene as quickly as possible, only making it just on time.

Alec walked up to Ellie with Fred on his hip, who was happily decorating Alec's coat with swirls of jam, and handed the sticky boy at arm's length back to his mother. "Here you go." Ellie smiled at the sight of her precious son. "How's my little Fred today?" she cooed and set him on her hip. She turned to face Alec, still smiling. "Thanks for the favour."

After the recreation, Ellie bundled Fred into the car and looked at Alec, who reluctantly trudged over. "I could call a cab, you don't have to waste petrol on me," he mumbled. "It's _fine,_ " insisted Ellie. "Let's go." He got into the car and Fred, more than happy to have a companion for the ride, unbuckled himself and clambered onto Alec's lap, where they proceeded to have a very noisy bonding session. Ellie sighed.

10 minutes later, though, Fred grew less and less enthusiastic. "Tummy," he kept complaining over and over again. "Tummy sick." Ellie paled as she realised that his problem with motion sickness was kicking in again. "Uh, Alec? I forgot to tell you that Fred is rather prone to motion sickness."

"Aw, doesn't matter," he replied. "Coat's already got jam on it." Fred squirmed around, eventually settling his head in Alec's chest. Alec rubbed his stomach in circles soothingly. "You'll be okay, Fred. Just endure it for a wee bit longer, alright? We're nearly there, nearly there now." He talked to him in soothing, gentle tones, almost as if Fred had been his own child. Ellie did an excellent job of hiding her amazement, but casually remarked, "You do have a way with kids, Alec, you know that?"

Her seemingly casual remark elicited a heavy sigh from him. "Yeah, well, I had- _have_ , I have a daughter, and she went through this stage too, you know…" His voice trailed off. Ellie, spotting a plastic bag on the console next to her, was glad to have found something to help change the subject. "Here, you'd better keep this just in case," she warned and tossed it in his general direction. Alec scoffed and threw the offensive bag down by his feet. "Coat's already got jam on it," he commented, still rubbing Fred's stomach absentmindedly.

He looked at Ellie, watching her drive. He couldn't help but notice the domesticity of the scene, and he loved it. A ping passed through his chest that had nothing to do with his heart condition at all, and he realised how much he wanted to be a part of this family, just to be there for Ellie and the kids, realising how much they needed a man in the household. And he wanted to be there to help as much as he could, even if his efforts couldn't have been the best.

Soon, Ellie slowed down the car speed considerably. She could've sworn Fred's face was turning a paler shade of green by the second. "Fred, love, are you okay?" she asked gently. The only response she got was the rustle of his clothes as he squirmed uncomfortably. At that moment the car went over a pothole, and that was the last straw. Fred emptied the contents of his stomach all over the place. All Ellie could do was stare in mortification as she pulled over and tried to clean up. "I'm so sorry! He's never been like this before. It isn't usually this bad," she apologised profusely as she tried to justify her son's behaviour. Alec groaned, throwing his head back against the headrest in disgust. "Thanks, mate," he muttered, moving his hands away from the weeping Fred. The suit and coat were definitely ruined now. Ellie shook her head. "Let's get you back to my house and maybe you can clean up there. I'll try to find something there you can change into," she suggested, to which he couldn't really disagree. The rest of the journey home, she tried not to lash out at poor Fred- she knew very well it wasn't anybody's fault.

Once they reached her house, she showed him where the bathroom was and handed him a spare towel. "Just throw that in the laundry basket when you're done," she instructed and gestured towards his dirty clothes. "I'll clean them up as much as I can." She went to get some hot water for Fred to calm his stomach down with.

As soon as she left, Alec quickly rid himself of the ruined suit and threw it in the laundry bin. He spent nearly an hour in the shower trying to clean up, then got out and realised to his amusement that Ellie had forgotten to leave him any clean clothes to put on. With the towel wrapped around his waist, he wandered through the house until he found the kitchen where she was making dinner and Fred was parking his toy truck collection on the sofa, obviously feeling way better now. He walked up noiselessly behind her and tapped her on the shoulder. "Ellie, I need some clothes."

"Aaagh!" She half-screamed at the sight of a basically naked Scottish man walking around in her house. "Sorry, I forgot. Let me…just…find something…" She backed away slowly, conscious of the blood rushing to her face, until she vanished into Tom's room, where she dug around for a spare shirt and some pants, then reappeared in the kitchen with the clothes hanging over her arms. Her face was still burning hot. "That's the best I can do. I've thrown away all Joe's clothes. Let me know if these don't fit," she said and practically threw the clothes at him, then escaped to the living room.

"Thanks," Alec chuckled and disappeared into the bathroom once more. He came back out in just a pair of black sport shorts. "Shirt's too small," he informed Ellie as soon as he found her, absorbed in marinating a chicken. "But it's okay. 'M fine like this." He tossed the shirt somewhere.

"Well, if you're sure," she replied, turning around. Her eyes came to rest on the angry red scar on his chest and she shuddered inwardly at the sight of it. "By the way, how's the pacemaker? How are you coping with it?" she asked, mostly just to distract herself from the sight of her boss standing in her kitchen shirtless. Fred, seeing him like this, giggled and abandoned his trucks to clamber at his legs, demanding for attention. Ellie pushed him away gently. "No, Fred, you've caused enough trouble for one day," she admonished.

"It works a little too well at times," Alec answered her question, remembering the way his heart rate had sped up when he had seen her that morning, although for the life of him, he just couldn't figure out why. He crouched down and mussed up the boy's curly hair, a wide, loving smile on his face. "Go play with your trucks, mate."

 _A/N: I'm sorry for any plot holes, but I'm really tired and I tried to edit out as many plot holes as I could. Fun fact: This is a very heavily edited compilation of a roleplay I did with worstcopinbritain on Instagram. I actually didn't mean to put it in here, but it was going along so well and I was running out of inspiration for chapter 4 when I realised this entire roleplay, if properly edited, could actually be used for the next chapter (it was seriously very cute, but much of the fluff was edited out as I wanted to keep it platonic for the story. Sorry guys) and so that's what I did. The length of it shocked me so I split it into two, the next part being chapter 5. Anyway, that explains the plot holes and the OOC (out-of-character) parts, if there are any. I really tried my best, but if you spot a plot hole or OOC part, my apologies in advance, and do let me know in the reviews and I will edit them out as soon as I can. Thanks!_


	5. Chapter 5

"So am I staying for dinner?" he asked, watching her sift through the cupboards.

"You can if you want to," came a muffled echo-y voice from the cupboard.

Her head emerged from inside a mini drawer and she turned around, watching him chase Fred back to his trucks. A stab of pain shot through her heart as she was reminded yet again of the perfect family life when Joe had still been around. He was practically born to be a dad. His skills at relating to children had been amazing, and he had gotten along so well with the children when they were born. Looking at him romping and playing around with the kids, one would never have suspected he was a killer.

Alec's intense gaze slammed her back down to reality and her face turned red once again as she realised she'd accidentally been staring at him while spacing out. "Well…you'll have to, seeing as your suit and coat are still in the washing machine…"

He mock-sighed and leaned up against the counter. "How tragic. I suppose I'll stay then." He crossed his arms over his chest, looking at over at her, his gaze never leaving her face once. The domesticity of the situation came back into his mind once again. Heck, he was even wearing Tom's shorts.

"Great!" Ellie replied enthusiastically, then kicked herself inwardly. That had been way more enthusiastic than she had meant to sound. _Way to go, blockhead,_ she scolded herself. _Be more careful next time._ As Alec looked at her questioningly, she realised in horror that she'd spoken out loud.

"Careful about what?" he prodded, moving closer to her. He smirked inwardly, knowing that she hadn't meant to speak her thoughts aloud in the first place.

"Uh…nothing, I just nearly burnt the food, that's all," she shot back, flustered, and turned around. Alec didn't have the heart to point out to her that she was in fact making a salad at the time and salad did not require cooking, but he thought she was better off not knowing that.

He turned around to check on Fred, who was contentedly chewing on the wheel of a toy tractor. Alec missed having toddlers around. He remembered when Daisy had been Fred's age, forever clinging on to his leg or begging for a ride on Daddy's shoulders, and a shadow fell across his face as he realised he hadn't treasured that crucial period enough. Daisy was 15 already, and probably the only person on the whole planet who was _this_ angry at him. A dejected sigh escaped his lips before he knew it.

Ellie sneaked a glance over her shoulder. She did not miss the longing glance in Alec's eyes and was positive he was reminiscing the golden times he'd had with Daisy. The lid on the pot rattled just then, and she carried the giant pot to the kitchen. "Dinner's ready!" she called out, and then added, "Fred, it's stew, your favourite! Stop eating your trucks, I think stew is much tastier, don't you?"

Tom appeared in the doorway. As soon as he smelled the stew, he pulled a face. "Muuum!" he groaned, exasperated. "Is that stew? And _salad?_ Really, Mum? You know how much I hate it!"

"You will eat what I put on the table or starve," she replied curtly, having spent a few hours preparing it. Alec threw a warning glance at Tom, who promptly rolled his eyes and disappeared as quickly as he had come. "I'll eat later," came a voice from his room, followed by the sound of the door closing shut.

Alec chuckled inwardly at that, sitting down at the only empty seat at the table (excluding Tom's). _It must have been Joe's seat,_ he thought. A sense of fulfilment that he could not explain washed over him, and he checked himself. Shaking his head, he started to pour out a bowl of stew for himself. His eyes rested upon Ellie, the perfect imagery of a mother, busy tucking Fred into his high chair, and he felt another ping in his chest. He was positive it wasn't his pacemaker.

Oblivious to the looks Alec had been giving her, she was busy giving Fred a spoon and reminding him of the previous lesson they'd had on how to hold it by himself. When he finally managed to get the spoon in control, she sighed with relief and turned around to get her own food. What she saw made her nearly have a heart attack herself. "What the _hell, Alec Hardy! Stop!"_ she screamed and forced the pot backwards away from him, preventing it from pouring any further. It was way too late, though. The kitchen table was a mess. Fred cheered and laughed, happy that at last someone else other than him was going to get in trouble for making a mess.

"What- What were you _thinking,_ you wanker?!" she burst out.

"I- I-" He could only stand there sputtering, wild eyed at his predicament. "I'm sorry Ellie, I don't know what just happened." He frantically tried to clean up the mess, but gave up as he watched it collect at the edge of the table and drip onto the floor. He stood up abruptly, the chair scraping on the floor and crashing violently into the wall behind him. "I'm…I'm sorry," he repeated for lack of a better word, and ran out of the kitchen. He planted himself outside on the sofa, head in his hands. "What a fucking idiot," he mumbled to himself.

Ellie walked out to find him. "Hey, it's okay," she reassured him, inwardly guilty for having yelled at him like that. "I guess that makes us even, huh?" She laughed lightly and clapped a hand on his shoulder, trying to steer him back to the kitchen. "C'mon, back you go. It's fine. You get used to these things when you have a 2-year-old in the house."

He grunted in reply, obediently but reluctantly going back to his seat. Ellie had managed to clean up the stew tsunami for the most part, his bowl left untouched. Alec proceeded to eat, looking down at his food. He couldn't afford to do any clumsier things, like spill the whole bowl in his lap. That would be disastrous.

He hadn't even noticed it, but he was staring at Ellie again. Turning around from putting the cloth she'd used into the sink, she caught him this time. "Why the look? Are you trying to decipher me? Give up now, I'm a hopeless case," she joked, and then burst out laughing. Fred was sitting under the table happily racing two of his trucks against each other, using Alec's legs as a race track. Alec blinked, startled. "What? No, no. I was just…zoning out, I suppose." He took another spoonful of soup, so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't even notice the rolling wheels on his shins.

"Oi! Are you okay?" Ellie asked worriedly, waving a hand in front of his face. "Hello? Earth to Alec Hardy!" She stopped joking and sobered up. "Is there something serious? Would you like to talk about it?" she interrogated him.

"Nah, I'd rather not," he sighed at her teasing, then pushed the empty bowl away from him. "Thanks for dinner, I'd better be off. I'll call a cab." He bent down and gave Fred an affectionate pat on the back before going to the dryer to collect his clothes.

Ellie rushed ahead of him to the doorway and blocked his path. "Do you need help?" she demanded. "You're the most obstinate man I've ever known. Talk about it, if you want."

"Bloody hell, Millahr," he interrupted, clearly annoyed. "You keep asking me to talk about it if I want, then when I don't want to, you ask me the same thing! Just let me get to my clothes." He shoved her roughly to one side.

Shocked, she couldn't move, and he pushed himself past her through the narrow doorway.

When he came back, his eyes were soft and full of regret. "I'm sorry I did that," he apologised. "I just…I just felt really invaded, that's all, and I don't know what I was thinking but I should not have done that to you and I'm sorry."

Ellie waved him aside, still reeling with shock over the fact that he had actually used mild physical violence on her. Sure it was only a rough shove, but it took the wind out of her sails. It was the least thing anyone would expect Alec bloody Hardy to do.

He lowered his head, not daring to look at her, and ran out. She distinctly heard the front door slam.

 _A/N: So this is part 2! (if you don't know what I'm talking about, go read the author's note I left on the previous chapter and it will make more sense. Also, I should stop leaving such long author's notes.) I hope you liked it. Credits to worstcopinbritain on Instagram for helping me write part of this. Well, sort of. (Again, if this doesn't make sense, go read the author's note I left on the previous chapter.) I'll be updating the next chapter soon!_


	6. Chapter 6

The next day in the office was extremely awkward, to say the least. Alec wished he hadn't been so hasty, but it was way too late. He had somehow managed to push through the first meeting, which dragged on for about three very torturous hours. The hard part wasn't the discussion or presentation or even struggling to stay awake throughout, no. It was deciding whether to look at Ellie or not. He'd had to collaborate with her quite a few times when it came to the presentation of instructions and discoveries they'd made for the police force they had prepared, and now the both of them had to present it together. But because of how he'd treated her the previous night and how he hadn't gotten closure as to whether she accepted his apology, he found it very awkward around her and couldn't bring himself to look at her, even when he needed to. He kept shoving his hands in his pockets nervously throughout, something he did when he felt awkward in order to relieve the tension in his muscles. It didn't help much though.

On the other hand, Ellie, forgiving by nature, had already assumed that last night's incident was past and buried, and she'd also assumed that he knew she had forgotten about it. She was confused when he chose a seat furthest from hers and tried avoiding eye contact through the whole meeting. Thoughts started blowing up in her mind. _Does he hate me? Was I being too pushy yesterday? Is he mad at me because I kept trying to force information out of him? Does he know that I've waved it all aside already? Does he know that…I was only trying to help?_ She grew more and more worried for the entirety of the three-hour long ordeal, and by the end of it, she was properly flustered. After the meeting was over and instructions had been given out to the respective departments, she walked towards the door of the meeting room, lost in thought. Her hand reached out to open the door, but to her surprise the door flew open by itself. Startled, she looked up. Alec was holding it open for her, rather sheepishly. Not knowing what to say or do, she ducked her head and rushed out, forgetting to acknowledge his presence at all.

 _Nice going, idiot! She definitely hates me now,_ Alec chided himself, alone in the meeting room. He sank into a chair and buried his head in his hands. "How am I supposed to fix this?" he groaned.

"Fix what?" came a familiar but tentative voice behind him. He jumped violently and cleared his throat while frantically brushing off his suit at an imaginary speck of dust on his shoulder. Turning around, he noticed Ellie standing in the doorway, arms crossed. "I think I owe you an apology," she started but was cut off by a crash as Alec stood up all of a sudden and the chair hit the wall behind him, a strong surge of relief evident in those big hazel eyes. "Millahr," he said. "I rather think _I_ owe you an apology instead. I shouldn't have been impatient with you last night. I'm so sorry."

She stared, and then started laughing. " _That?_ Really? That's nothing compared to what I've done." Her voice quieted. "I guess I was too forceful last night. I shouldn't have done that; I should have waited till you were ready to…" She trailed off, swallowing the last word.

His eyes bore into hers. "To what?"

She squirmed uncomfortably. "Never mind," she gulped.

Alec took one step towards her. "Tell me," he said, his voice quiet and serious.

Ellie's family had no history of heart trouble, but she was positive she was going to go into cardiac arrest at any moment now. "Well…I…some things are better left unsaid," she finished off awkwardly. Clearly, he didn't buy it.

He took two long strides towards her. "There will be no more secrets between me and anyone else anymore," he said, softer this time. It made her extremely uncomfortable.

When she made no reply, he took another step, closing up the distance between them. "Miller, look at me," he ordered gently, and she looked up, matching her gaze with his intense one. For some reason she couldn't explain, his hazel brown eyes were a bit too much for her to hold her gaze to, but she barely managed.

"I need you to trust me, can you do that? Secrets have ruined my life and yours. I want there to be a mutual trust. Can you promise me that?"

Never in the whole time she'd known him had she heard him speak so gently. But there was something in his voice that told her, and in that instant, she knew.

She knew that she could trust him, and she knew that as broken as he was, he wanted to start all over again. He wouldn't let life beat him down, certainly not Alec Hardy. His stubbornness had been his saviour. And in that moment, she knew that she had found a friend beneath that hard, grumpy exterior. She could tell him anything.

Then it hit her, and she gasped, starting to laugh uncontrollably.

"What's so funny?" he grumbled.

"Look at you, calling the kettle black," she finally managed. "You stand here, talking about trust, begging me to trust you, and tell me what happened yesterday? I asked you what happened, and you didn't trust me enough to tell me." She started giggling again, then sobered. "But what I wanted to say was, I should have waited until you were ready to _trust._ Life had done so much to you, I didn't blame you for not trusting anyone," she confessed. "Although I must say I never expected you to say what you just said."

Alec managed a reluctant smile. "Well…not much else to do, is there? Clamping up and becoming grumpy isn't doing much good anyway."

Ellie walked out the door, still grinning. "Come on, wanker. We've got plenty of work to do."

"Idiot," he muttered under his breath as he followed behind, glad that she couldn't see the smile on his face as he looked at her.


	7. Chapter 7

Ellie couldn't help but begin to wonder at how Alec could just skip from hotel to hotel so frequently. "Isn't it troublesome?" she had asked once, only to receive a single shake of the head as an answer." I do what I can to live, and if it works, it works," he'd say with a shrug, trying to be nonchalant about it. It was clear, though, that he was getting tired of moving around so much.

Finally, one day, she had enough. "You're staying with me for a week," she commanded him. "You are _not_ spending any more money on hotel rooms. It's ridiculous." Despite his grumbling protests, he grudgingly accepted in the end, partly because it was time for him to check out the next day anyway, and partly because he hadn't had the time to book another hotel for the night. "Alright, fine," he relented. "But after the week is over, I'm using your computer to book a room and I'm leavin'." (The last part was spoken with extra emphasis.) This she could not argue with. _He couldn't be staying with you for the rest of his life,_ she reasoned with herself but without much success. The blood rushed to her face as she caught herself entertaining these thoughts, and she hurriedly went to the spare room that was once used as a storeroom, but was now practically empty because all Joe's stuff had been moved out and either trashed or donated, and what was left wasn't much because unlike Joe, Ellie wasn't a hoarder. She dragged a mattress with some difficulty into the room, then focused on cleaning up all the dust on the floor and windows, blissfully unaware that Fred had quietly followed her into the room and started tracing shapes in the dust, then giving his dusty fingers a very thorough taste test.

Half an hour later, she sighed, satisfied, and then turned around, only to discover Fred tracing patterns on the freshly cleaned walls with his blackened fingers. She let out a frustrated groan. "Fred, love, how long have you been here? Don't disturb me, okay? Mummy's got to clean the room if Uncle Alec is to stay here." She picked him up and settled him on the sofa with his toys, but once she walked away, Fred hopped off the sofa and toddled alongside her.

"No, no, stay on the sofa. Look! There's Scoop and Dizzy waiting to play with you!" she encouraged him with fake enthusiasm. "Scoot. Pilchard wants you to pet her." And with that, Fred made a U-turn back to the sofa. Pilchard was his favourite cat, and he wasn't about to neglect her. Noting that with relief, Ellie promptly went back to cleaning the black marks he had left.

Night came, and Alec retired to the spare room. "G'nite, Millahr," he said gruffly and closed the door a little too forcefully. She smiled and went through the house, checking if there were any unlocked window grilles and making sure the front door was double-locked. "Fred, it's time for bed!" she called out, trying to sound happy when in reality she dreaded what came next because she knew what was coming. It happened every night.

"Noooo!" Fred screamed as he ran through the house, escaping from Ellie's hands. "Don't wanna go bed!" He ran into the corner between the front door and the wall, and then his eyes widened as he realised his grave mistake. There was only one way out.

As Ellie approached him, he let out the loudest, most piercing shriek anyone had ever heard. She winced and immediately recoiled, stuffing her fingers in her ears. Tom emerged from his room, obviously looking pissed off. "Fred, for goodness' sake, I'm trying to sleep!" he shouted. "But I don't wanna bed," protested Fred, tears filling up his eyes.

"What the hell is going on here?" Alec appeared in the doorway to the living room. Ellie groaned. "Just go back to sleep, all of you, please," she pleaded. "Let me handle him." Tom threw his hands up in the air and stomped back to his room, the slam of a door echoing through the house a moment later. Alec remained planted by the door, arms crossed, his hair tousled and eyes heavy with sleep. "Here, Miller. Let me have a go," he suggested. She pushed past him at the doorway, muttering under her breath. "You won't be able to handle him. You don't know what his tantrums are like."

Ignoring her warnings, Alec casually strode over to where the toddler sat slumped against the front door, stopping just in front of him. The man towered over the child, who craned his neck just enough to rest his eyes on Alec's tie.

He slowly squatted down. Fred, becoming suspicious, said nothing as he watched his oldest friend lower himself to his own height. "Don't wanna bed," he mumbled stubbornly. "Want trucks. And Pilchard."

"Fred, mate," he said. "Look at the time now." He showed Fred his watch, pointing at the hands. "Do you know what time it is?"

"It's 9 o'clock," he said when Fred shook his head. "It's late. Look, even Pilchard is sleeping!" He pointed across to the sofa where his Pilchard action figure was lying down sideways, presumably having been knocked down during playtime just now. "Don't you wanna go to bed? Let's have a nice long sleep so we can be all happy and ready to play with Pilchard tomorrow. Hm?" he coaxed, in the gentlest voice that Ellie, listening from the doorway, had ever heard him use.

"No," Fred insisted, but not as stubbornly as he had whenever Ellie tried to get him to go to sleep. "Scoop not sleeping. Spud too." Alec turned around and noticed that the rest of his action figures were all standing at attention on the floor beneath the coffee table. He stood up.

"C'mon, Fred," he said, tenderly engulfing the boy's tiny hand in his own large, comforting one. "Spud wants to say something to you." Fred, intrigued by the prospect, stood up and actually followed him obediently to the coffee table, where Alec sat down cross-legged. He hoisted Fred into his lap.

He picked up the Spud action figure. "Hey, buddy!" he said, imitating the voice that Spud used on the telly. Fred's eyes flew wide open. Ellie chuckled; she couldn't help it.

"Spud," gasped the toddler wonderingly. "Don't wanna bed. Wanna play with Spud."

"Spud wants to sleep, Fred," the action figure replied. "Fred should sleep too."

"But…I wanna play with Spud," grouched Fred.

"It's late now. Spud wants to sleep. How about tomorrow morning instead? Hm?" suggested Spud.

"We want to sleep too," complained Muck. Fred's eyes grew so big, Ellie almost feared they would fall out of his head.

"Okay," grumbled Fred. "I'll go bed. Nite-nite Spud. Nite-nite Muck, nite-nite Scoop…" Alec cast the amazed Ellie a triumphant glance as Fred started bidding all his Bob the Builder action figures goodnight one by one, and by name. Alec gently laid down each action figure on its side as Fred finished greeting it. "Look, Fred. They're asleep. You should sleep too," he pointed out.

Fred, seeing all his favourite toys asleep, finally caved in. "Wanna be like 'em. Wanna go bed," he said, casting an almost fatherly glance at his sleeping toys. Alec suppressed the urge to laugh at the look on his face and hoisted Fred up in his arms, then stood up. "C'mon, Fred. Let's get you back to bed, okay?" he asked in the same tender voice he had used just now. The now exhausted toddler allowed himself to be carried up to his bedroom as his mother watched, thoroughly amazed.

Once Alec had tucked him into bed, he went downstairs back to his own room. He turned off the lights and was about to get back into bed when he saw a figure standing in his doorway. " _How the hell did you do that?!"_ demanded the figure.

"Is no one ever able to get any rest around this house?" he complained. "Miller, let me sleep! Remember, I have a daughter and she used to be this age!" He flounced into bed and pulled the sheets over his head, leaving Ellie standing agape in the doorway.

 _A/N: Hope you enjoyed this cute fluff (: As always, reviews are more than welcome! I'll update the next chapter soon._


	8. Chapter 8

Tom woke up to the aroma of frying eggs and toast wafting through the house. He took in a deep breath of the refreshing fragrance, trying to remember the last time his mother had cooked breakfast. For the past few years, ever since his family had fallen apart because of his dad, she had either been too busy with the cases to cook or too worn out to wake up early to cook, so he usually just bought a sandwich or something at a small shop on the way to school. In fact, the smell of fresh coffee mixed with the early morning air smell, previously the most comforting thing to him, was starting to become quite foreign. He wondered what had come over his mother to suddenly inspire her to actually make breakfast, and with that curiosity in mind, he went downstairs.

Not surprisingly, it wasn't Ellie who was standing at the stove cooking after all, but Alec, together with his handy kitchen assistant Fred. "Of course. I should have known," he said and slapped his own forehead. Alec turned round, startled. "What?"

"Nothing. I thought my mum was actually cooking breakfast for once. Turns out it was you. Of course it's you; my mum has probably forgotten how to turn on the stove by now anyway. Nobody in this house has cooked much since my dad…well." He mumbled the last part and plopped himself down on a chair.

Alec looked sideways at him. "How about we surprise her with breakfast in bed?"

Tom slowly looked up as a smile spread across his face. "Let's go. She definitely deserves something nice."

About 40 minutes, a ravaged kitchen cupboard and a very sticky Fred later, they had managed to assemble a beautifully arranged breakfast on the best plate they could find, coupled with a mug of hot tea. There was some debate on who should bring it in.

"Me me me me me!" insisted Fred, his hands reaching out for the tray. Alec held it high up out of his reach. "No, Tom should go, 'cos he'll be careful not to drop it," he suggested. "'Sides, you can't manage, Fred. It's too heavy for you." Fred pouted in protest, but gave up. He knew he couldn't have managed it anyway.

In the end, though, it was Tom who suggested they all go in together. He didn't want to have to go in alone, partly because he felt guilty about giving his mum a hard time and ruining their relationship in the process, and it was all very awkward around the house now whenever they crossed paths, and partly because since they all had a part in this, they should all go together. They went upstairs, Tom balancing the tray on his hands carefully.

They knocked and went in anyway because there wasn't any answer. Ellie was still fast asleep. All three of them looked at each other, not knowing what to do next. Tom set the tray down on the nightstand, then grabbed a piece of paper and hastily scribbled a note on it. He tucked it below the mug of tea. They tiptoed out quietly, Fred trying not to giggle.

Once they were safely outside, they debated what to do next. It was a beautiful Saturday morning, with perfect weather (for once), and Tom wanted to go outside, but Fred preferred to stay indoors, unaccustomed to the slightly higher temperatures than usual. They were fighting about whether to sit in front of the telly or go hunting for spiders outside when Ellie appeared in the doorway.

"What the heck, Hardy? Trust _you_ to put my hyperactive kid to bed in 10 minutes and then let him start fighting with his brother the next day," she said, a smile lurking at the corner of her mouth. Fred immediately clamped his mouth shut, afraid of getting scolded for quarrelling.

Tom jumped up. "Mum! Did you see what we left on your nightstand?" he asked. She nodded, a twinkle in her eye. "Thanks a bunch for that. It really made my day," she added with warmth in her tone. "But whose idea was it?"

"Him," Tom blurted, pointing at Alec before he could stop him.

"Really?" Ellie gave him a long, intense stare, one eyebrow raised.

"No- no- it's- it was-" Alec stood there sputtering nonstop and trying to explain, but Tom cut him off.

"Nonsense. You were the one who suggested it when I came down, remember?" Tom piped up again, which left him with no choice but to admit it grumpily.

"Alright, alright, I did," he admitted, his face flushing.

Which made Ellie smile sceptically. "You? You actually had an idea about being nice to me?" she teased.

"Cut it, Millahr," he groaned, his face turning even redder. "I just thought you deserved something nice after all this time, and Tom agreed, didn't you Tom?"

Now it was Tom's turn to be embarrassed. "Yes, well, erm…well…yeah, alright, I did agree, but he said it first!" he accused loudly.

Ellie burst out laughing. "Oh, look at you! You did something nice for me and now you're acting like you're trying to pin the blame on each other for something horrible you did. C'mon, snap out of it. Boys," she said, changing the subject, much to Alec's relief, "it's perfect weather out there. How about we go for a picnic?"

Both Tom and Fred found it hard to refute the idea, and they sprinted off to their respective rooms to get ready, leaving Alec standing awkwardly in the living room. He shoved his hands into his pockets, a gesture he was accustomed to turn to whenever he felt awkward and didn't know what to do with his hands. He looked around, and finally the ravaged kitchen caught his eye through the adjoining doorway. "I'll just go clean up the mess," he stated and went off. Ellie could not resist a slight giggle as she turned to leave.

A horrible scream from upstairs nearly sent Alec into heart arrest and he dropped the frying pan he was holding. " _What the hell was that?!"_ he shouted and ran out of the kitchen, colliding into Ellie, whose face had turned bloodless white. "I heard it too. Let's go see what it is." But he had already grabbed her wrist roughly and was running up the stairs, never mind the malfunctioning heart…

 _A/N: Hey guys! Finally updated. The previous chapter was really cute, so I'm gonna try to include more cute fluff in future, but it's quite hard because it's OOC for them. I'll try my best to make it fit though._

 _What do you think will happen next? And how do you like it so far? Tell me in the reviews please (: the next chapter will be coming round in about 3 days._


	9. Chapter 9

"Mummy! _Help me!"_ The screaming grew louder and louder, coming from Fred's room. Alec burst into the room, all senses on alert for any danger, followed by Ellie, who nearly didn't have the courage to enter the room.

"Save me, mummy! _Save me!"_ he screamed, clinging to his nightstand like death. Luckily he was small and light enough to balance on top of it.

A gush of relief washed over the two of them as they realised what he was pointing at. It was a cockroach on the floor.

Ellie walked over and crushed the bug on the floor with her shoe as Alec tried to pry Fred off the nightstand. "It's alright, look, Mummy's killed it!" he tried to soothe the hysterical toddler. Fred, seeing the squashed mess on the floor, was finally assured that it wasn't going to deliver a fatal venomous bite to his neck, and quieted down, his screams reduced to soft whimpering and he buried his head in Alec's chest. Alec handed the sniffling bundle back to his mother. "There you go. See? We're fine. It's safe," she assured him as she cradled him in her arms, sitting on the bed.

Alec sat himself down heavily on the tiny bed, which creaked ominously, unaccustomed to this much weight. He ran his fingers through his hair, remembering how he used to be terrified of insects as a child. The scene of Ellie rocking Fred back and forth reminded him of how the exact same thing would happen with him and his mother, and he looked away painfully. "Is he usually like this?" he asked, just for the sake of breaking the silence.

"He's got a phobia of insects."

"Oh." He didn't know what to say. "Hopefully he'll grow out of it…plenty of kids are terrified of insects."

"No, I mean the actual phobia. It's entomophobia," she informed him with a side glance. "He's always been like this. Really."

Alec let his mind wander for a while. He could not stop himself thinking about how domestic the scene looked. For a brief moment he imagined himself with Daisy, re-enacting the exact same scenario many, many years ago when his life had still been perfect, and he closed his eyes and shook his head to clear the thoughts, eliciting some really strange looks from Ellie.

"What are you doing? Are you alright?" she probed.

"'M fine." He stood up. "Go prepare for your picnic. I'll stay at home; I have work to do," he lied through his teeth. He just didn't want to evoke more painful memories. Ellie nodded and started guiding Fred around, teaching him how to pack his own things.

At the end of the day, they came home tired but happy and very, very satisfied. Alec greeted Tom with a ruffle of his curls, forgetting how much he hated it. But Tom was too tired to care, and he went straight to his room to sleep. Fred was already half asleep in Ellie's arms. "I'll just tuck him in," she whispered. "Go get dinner ready." Before he could protest, she had disappeared.

"Since when have I become the servant?" he grumbled as he went to the kitchen to make dinner.

After dinner, which wasn't very much because they were all too tired to eat anyway, Ellie went to check on Fred, who had done a very sleepy job of brushing his teeth and wearing his pyjamas, and Tom, who had fallen asleep, forgetting to shower. She went into her room and stretched out on the huge bed, flopping her arm onto the now empty half of the bed. Thinking about how much things had changed ever since those three words turned her life upside-down, she wondered if people would ever look at her the same way as before.

After a moment's thought, she realised that she barely had any friends left. She still had her sister, thank goodness, and…well, that was pretty much all. Beth had reconciled with her, but the Latimers had moved out of Broadchurch. The kids needed a new start, she was told. They still kept in touch occasionally, but were too far away to help her when she needed it. Ellie pinched the bridge of her nose as she tried to drive away the thought that she had pretty much nobody left in the world.

"You alright?" A voice startled her, and she leapt upright.

It was only Alec.

"Good grief, don't _do_ that!" she blurted.

"I did knock, you know," he mumbled. "Just…came to check if you were alright." He sat himself down on what little of the bed that was left because Ellie, stretched out again, was occupying the rest. "You seem unusually quiet."

"That's because I'm _tired,_ Alec. You're overthinking," she replied with the air of a longsuffering teacher trying to teach a particularly dense student, and closed her eyes dramatically. "I was out all day with the kids, remember?"

He pulled his legs up into a cross-legged position and settled his elbow on the bed, leaning forward to her. "Sure. Get some rest."

"Can't sleep if you're staring at me like that. It's unnerving," she said with a nervous laugh and pulled the pillow over her head.

"Okay, I'll leave. Gosh, all I did was come in to show some concern and you kick me out like I'm unwanted."

"That's cos you are."

"Stop that." Alec jumped off the bed, then pulled the blanket out with some difficulty from underneath Ellie. "C'mon, get in. Get some rest," he ordered.

Playing along, she kicked off her fuzzy slippers and got under the blanket that he was holding up for her.

He threw the blanket over her, then tucked in the corners, even going so far as to lean over to the other side to make sure it was properly tucked in. He even smoothed it out for her. "G'nite," he mumbled gruffly, staring at her for a brief moment, then rushed out of the room.

All Ellie could do was stare at the black ceiling. She couldn't get any sleep for a long, long time.

 _A/N: Sorry for the long wait; I wrote chapter 10 first by accident, and I had absolutely no ideas whatsoever for this chapter. I had terrible writer's block. Anyway I finally managed to squeeze out something, so here you go (: sorry if I disappointed you with the terrible ending to the cliffhanger from the previous chapter! Chapter 10 is already done, I'll just edit it and upload it in about 30 minutes (or less)._


	10. Chapter 10

_He was lying on a hospital bed._

 _The ominous beeping of the heart monitor was the only sound in the room as she stood by his bedside, weeping silently._

 _She called out to him, but his eyes remained closed._

 _The intervals between beeps grew longer and longer._

 _She called his name, tried to scream it, but no sound came out. It was stuck in her throat, which was unable to produce a single syllable and she couldn't imagine why._

 _The intervals grew even longer._

 _Tears streaking down her cheeks, she knelt down to look at him in the face and cradled his hand in hers, resting on the deathly white sheets._

" _Please don't leave…" she tried to say._

 _He opened his eyes and smiled at her._

" _Ellie…"_

 _Her hold on his hand tightened drastically as her eyes lit up. "Alec, you're back! You'll be up and about in no time at all, you hear me? You've got to stay alive!" she pleaded._

 _He shook his head. "No, time's up for me."_

" _Don't say that," she sobbed. "You'll be alright, you will survive. You've always been a stubborn man; can't you fight it again?"_

" _I can't."_

 _Beep. Beep. Beep._

" _And I suppose, if it's my last chance to say it…"_

" _Don't talk like that…"_

" _Ellie Miller…"_

 _The heart monitor flatlined._

 _Ellie broke down, collapsing on the bed on top of him. She cried until there were no more tears left in her._

" _Ellie…Ellie!" She could hear a voice from somewhere distant, calling her, but she ignored it. Why couldn't they let her grieve alone?_

" _Ellie!" There was a hand on her shoulder. She turned around, seeing a bright light behind her._

"…Ellie! Are you alright?" She sat up in bed with a gasp. Alec was standing next to her, shaking her vigorously to wake her up.

"Of course I'm alright, why wouldn't I be?" she asked in turn, more than a little annoyed, all traces of her dream having disappeared completely for the moment as dreams tend to do.

"You were screaming for me, bloody hell. Yelling my name repeatedly! What do you mean, why wouldn't you be?!" he asked, exasperated, glaring at her.

"I must have been dreaming, that's…" She trailed off as memories of her dream came back to her slowly, bit by bit, and it made her face burn hot. "Oh. Nothing. It's okay, I'm good. Just stress making me have a massive nightmare, that's all," she tried to explain hastily. "Go back to sleep."

He didn't buy it and folded his arms. "Something happened."

"It was only a dream, honestly it was," she replied rather truthfully.

"Was it a bad dream? It must have been," he persisted.

"…No it wasn't." This one, not so truthfully.

"Fine, Miller. Wake me up at 2 in the morning and then tell me it's nothing." He yawned. "I don't have time for your pranks. I'm going back to bed."

 _It wasn't a prank,_ she thought petulantly as she pulled the blankets over her head, trying to go back to sleep. But it was impossible. After that nightmare she'd just had, she kept having visions of Alec fainting on the floor or in a hospital bed and the like. It jerked her awake, and she didn't get any more sleep until the next morning.

By the time 7am arrived, she looked terrible.

Alec jumped when she made an appearance in the kitchen. "You look terrible, Millahr," he commented. "That nightmare bothered you again?"

"No," she muttered unwillingly. "I just couldn't sleep, that's all." Which was sort of the truth.

He turned around, taking a sip from his cup. "Remember what we said? No secrets." His voice softened and he strolled towards the table. "Tell me, Millahr. It's not good to bottle up like that. What's stressing you?"

" _You're_ telling _me._ " Ellie snorted sceptically.

"Come on. I just want to talk, I just want to help you," he pleaded, pulling out a chair for himself next to her and settling himself on it.

"Well…I had a dream about you dying," she began reluctantly, but was cut off by a surprised stare from him.

"You _what?!"_ he blurted after about 19723 years of stunned silence.

"Yeah, that's what I thought." She snorted again. "I _knew_ you wouldn't wanna hear about it."

"But what have you been worrying about so much that it haunts you dreams?" he asked softly. "You don't have to care about me."

"I don't have to, but I do it because I want to," she replied, her cheeks flushing. She wished wholeheartedly that she didn't blush so easily. "You deserve a lot more care and credit than you ever admit."

"You know, sometimes," she continued, hesitant now, "I wonder what happened to turn you into the shell of a man you are today. It couldn't have only been Sandbrook and Broadchurch, couldn't it? You're way too hardened for that." Ellie stopped, feeling she had confessed too much. "I don't believe it's always this way. Something must have happened."

"What?"

"I don't believe everyone's born a prick." A thoughtful look came over her face. "Although with someone like you, it's not that hard to believe." Her eyes sparkled.

Alec chuckled inwardly and punched her arm. "Don't talk about your boss like that!"

" _Former_ boss, if I may remind you."

"Idiot." He stood up, the hint of a smile on his face. "I'm going to check on Fred, we had a bet on whether he would be able to finish a jigsaw puzzle by himself." He left and was glad for the opportunity to use that as an excuse to turn his back towards Ellie, because his face was flushing too.

Ellie suddenly remembered that she'd left her wallet in the car by mistake. She went to her room to get the car keys to unlock the door, but stopped and tiptoed next to the door when she heard voices coming from her room.

"You did it!" A very familiar, gruff voice that lacked the usual rough edge to it, but instead had a softer, more fatherly tone to it.

"Yaaay! I did it!" A very tiny, excited voice.

Followed by a deafening crash and an equally deafening howl.

"It's okay, Fred, we can build it up again. See?"

Ellie peeped into her room to see Alec stacking on block on top of another to demonstrate. Fred caught on and began clumsily placing huge blocks on tiny ones. His tower fell apart again.

"No, no, you have to put the bigger ones at the bottom. Like that." He put his hand on top of Fred's hand and together they built the most massive block tower anyone in that room had ever seen in their life. Ellie could not help but smile at how sweet he was around children.

She abruptly remembered the car keys she had come to get in the first place and went in. "Sorry guys, I just need to get my keys and that's all." She walked over to the nightstand, but her keys weren't there. "That's odd. I thought I left them there. Well, sorry about that. Carry on!" she chirped and left the room. She did not notice something shiny and metallic sticking out of Fred's pocket…

 _A/N: Here's chapter 10! Hope you like it. Will update 11 soon (: as always, do leave me a review. Thanks!_


	11. Chapter 11

About an hour later, she returned to the house, having searched the entire place, including the driveway, for her car keys. Exasperated, she went back to her room, which Alec and her son had vacated. After turning everything inside upside down once more, she went to the living room, where Tom was watching TV.

"Have you seen my car keys, Tom?" she asked.

"No."

"Well, if you see them, let me know. By the way, where are those two again?"

"Oh, they went swimming down at the river."

" _What?!"_ Ellie almost screamed. Keys forgotten, she broke into a sprint towards the river. "That bloody idiot, he knows he's afraid of water, and Fred's too young…How does he expect himself to supervise a young kid if he himself can't swim…" The thoughts whizzed through her mind in a blur, as did the scenery around her, until she finally reached the river.

She found them happily splashing away in a slightly shallower area, their clothes in a messy bundle underneath a bush. Fred, seeing his mother, called out excitedly. "Mummy! Swim! Swim!"

Alec turned around in alarm, and he began to wish he hadn't given in to Fred's earlier demands for an afternoon dip. Now he would have to face her maternal wrath. _Besides,_ he suddenly realised with horror, _I've barely got any clothes on!_

Ellie tore her eyes away from the scene. "Alec Hardy, you're in big trouble for bringing my son swimming without my permission! And anyway, what happened to your phobia of water?"

"Ah. You see…I was helping Fred to overcome his fear of insects…so he's now helping me to overcome my fear of water. As you can see, we made good progress today." He barely managed to keep the smile out of his voice.

She marched over and lifted Fred out of the water, getting her shirt soaking wet. "C'mon Fred, go change into your clothes," she ordered him, to which he dutifully complied by trotting over to the bush and happily burrowing inside Alec's shirt which was lying on the ground. "Look, Mummy, tunnel!" said a muffled voice. Ellie sighed. "Now look what you've done. You've gotten the shirt all wet," she chided. "Come here and put on your own clothes!" She waved his clothes around, and her keys fell out from somewhere inside the bundle.

Fred stared guiltily at his toes. "Shiny," he mumbled. "I like shiny."

"Put on your clothes before you catch a cold," she insisted and put the keys in her pocket.

Alec emerged from the water and after using his pants to dry off his legs, stared in mortification at his now soaking wet shirt that Fred had used as a towel of sorts. "I- It's okay, actually. I'm fine like this. Let's go back."

By the time they had gotten back though, he was freezing cold. The air was chilly and being wet all over hadn't helped in the least. He went to take a hot bath and change into some clothes that he'd made sure to leave on top of the heater just before he went for his bath, and then snuggled under the blankets in his temporary guest room, trying to retain as much warmth as possible.

 _A girl was walking away from him, her back facing him._

 _Right in front of her was the vast, roaring, frightful ocean._

 _Each wave got bigger and bigger, climbing higher and higher, until the next terrible black wave looked as if it could swallow the earth._

 _The girl continued walking._

" _You're going to drown!" he yelled. "Get away from the water!"_

 _She didn't hear him._

" _Get- Get away from the water!" he wanted to scream again, but he couldn't. His throat made no sound at all. Desperate now, he started running towards her, to pull her back._

 _But he felt like he was running through water. His legs moved impossibly slowly as the girl walked, faster and faster now, towards the cold, angry black ocean._

 _He finally caught up with her and grabbed her shoulder. She turned around._

" _Daisy?!" he gasped._

He awoke with a start.

When he tried to open his eyes, though, they felt like lead. Panting, he attempted to sit up, but fell back down. He gave up and burrowed deeper into the sheets, but couldn't sleep. The memory of the water haunted him. He pressed a hand to his forehead, trying to relieve his throbbing head, then pulled it back in shock when he realised he was burning up. Vision spinning, he tried to get out of bed to get a wet towel.

Ellie was in her bedroom reading. She jumped at a loud thud coming from the doorway and went to investigate. Her eyes widened. "Alec, you alright?" she asked when she saw a crumpled pile collapsed against the door frame, half lying down, half sitting up.

"I need a wet towel," he mumbled. "Came to ask you where you kept them."

She checked his pulse, and determined that his heart was fine, then drew back in shock when she realised he was having an awful fever. She propped him up and threw one arm around her shoulder. "You're not going anywhere," she commanded, her maternal instincts kicking in. "Stay in bed. I'll bring you whatever you need, in a few minutes." He was too weak to walk all the way to the end of the house where the guest room was, so she tucked him in her own bed, adding on an extra blanket for protection against the cold weather.

He didn't improve for the next two days, but grew worse instead. Once, when Ellie told him that his temperature had gone down by 2 degrees, he tried to get out of bed, but his head spun and he crashed against the nightstand, earning himself several livid bruises and one very angry Ellie for his efforts.

"You really should be more responsible for your own health, you know," she admonished.

"Aye." He was too weak to protest and fell asleep again.

Ellie sat on the edge of the bed and looked at him, sighing. _He's just like an overgrown kid,_ she thought. _Makes a mess of the place, runs off swimming with other kids, doesn't take care of his own health…yup. Definitely an overgrown kid._ Despite this, though, she could not resist a smile as she smoothed down a strand of his hair. Looking at him sleeping so peacefully there, no one would have thought that he had gone through so much shit before.

 _People look much more innocent when they're asleep. I wonder why,_ she asked herself.

She carefully changed the wet towel on his forehead, making sure she didn't wake him up, and he stirred in his sleep, mumbling something, smiling in his sleep, before the smile faded away gradually.

"You really should smile more," she mused and tucked an unruly corner of the blanket in. "It suits your face very well." She stood up and left to go and check on Fred.

Alec cracked open one eye, a tired smile slowly spreading across his face. "I'll try," he whispered.

 _A/N: Finally managed to get chapter 11 done! Again, I'm sorry for any continuity errors. I've been using fanfic writing as a way to destress, so my mind is super messy whenever I write a chapter. Let me know in the reviews how you find it and tell me any areas I should improve on. Thanks!_


	12. Chapter 12

By the next morning, he hadn't improved at all. He mostly stayed in bed, either tossing and turning around in a feverish, fitful sleep, or leaning back propped up against the pillows typing away on his laptop. Ellie had nagged at him to rest more than once, but of course he wouldn't have it. "'M _fine,_ " he insisted, then fell into a fit of coughing. He sighed, defeated, and laid back down, but whenever she was out of the room he would try to get up again. Of course, he only earned a dizzy spell for his efforts. After a while he gave up and decided to try taking a nap instead.

A few hours later he awoke, his throat parched. He reached out for the glass on the nightstand, only to realise that it was empty. He tried to call out for Ellie, but his throat refused to work; it was just too dry. Alec sighed and slowly got out of bed. He discovered that he could sort of drag his feet along if he supported himself using the wall and tried to focus ahead instead of looking at the floor. At last, he barely managed to drag himself to the kitchen and get a new glass of water. _Why didn't I bring my own glass along?_ he thought, imagining what Ellie would have to say to him if she saw the second glass and asked him how he got it. He shrugged his shoulders and carefully started to carry the glass back to the room, walking in the same manner he had come.

" _Muummyyyyy!"_ Ellie jolted awake in bed from a peaceful afternoon nap to a horrific crashing sound followed by Fred's panicked screaming. Without thinking about anything else, she sprinted in the direction of the screaming, growing louder and louder by the second. She found him in the living room, cowering against the sofa and whimpering. He threw himself into her arms. "Shhh, it's okay, Fred. What happened? Are you hurt?" She checked to see if he was injured in any way, and then, satisfied that he was fine, just in shock, she turned her head around for the first time, and her eyes widened. There was Alec in a confused heap on the floor, wet shattered glass everywhere. She planted a kiss on her son's forehead and settled him on the sofa. "Don't move, okay? The glass will hurt you. Stay there, I'll carry you to your room later." With a comforting pat on Fred's head, she left for the other side of the living room, picking her way delicately through the sea of broken glass.

"Alec? What happened? Are you okay?" she tried questioning, but all she got was a vague mumbling sound from the heap that was Alec Hardy. She shook her head and cleared away most of the bigger pieces of glass, as much as she could, then propped him sitting up against the wall. "Stay there, the floor is covered in glass," she told him, then tiptoed her way to where the vacuum cleaner was.

Once she had finished vacuuming up all the glass as quickly and cleanly as possible, she went to check him for injuries. There were a few cuts on his hand from the broken glass, and one of the particularly small shards had gotten lodged in a finger. She got a pair of tweezers and carefully extracted them one by one, eliciting a painful hiss from him occasionally. "Am I hurting you?" she asked once, but he gritted his teeth. "'M fine."

Soon, he was more or less settled back in bed again. "What happened back there? Why did you suddenly collapse?" she interrogated. He sighed.

"I needed more water," he tried to explain. "My glass was empty and you were asleep somewhere so I had to get it myself. I guess I got dizzy halfway. Never had such a terrible fever before," he said.

Ellie sighed. "Tell you what, if you need anything and I don't respond, text me, alright? I'm always on my phone checking for updates, so I'll be sure to see it." She gave a weary sigh.

"Let me see. Another difficult case?"

"Yep." She stood up and walked towards the door. "Well, if you need anything, just yell for me, or text me. _Don't_ try to get up on your own, you're not well enough yet," she commanded, fixing him with a piercing glare. He blew air into his cheeks. "Okay."

The rest of the day was perfectly hectic. Ellie was constantly attending to Fred and Alec at the same time while trying to do her work. It nearly drove her mad, but she told herself that Alec needed her. He had already been through so much shit in his life and looking after him when he couldn't do it himself was the least she could do to make his life easier for now. And somehow, she took pleasure in the fact that she was one of the people who could help to make his life better.

"Mummy's birthday!" shouted Fred happily as he bounced on Ellie's bed the next morning. Grunting, she tried to open her eyes, but her eyelids felt like they had weights on them. She squinted at her alarm clock, trying to make sense of the numbers. "Fred, for heaven's sake…it's 3 in the morning." She gave him an exasperated look. He only responded by throwing the covers open. "MUMMY'S BIRTHDAY!" he screamed excitedly. She instinctively curled up to protect herself from the sudden blast of icy draft he had let in. "Fred!" she scolded and pulled the blankets back up again. "Go back to bed. Why are you even awake?"

"Because we're all excited for your birthday, Mum," said Tom's voice from the doorway. He walked in and lifted a struggling Fred off the bed. "And I might have accidentally let him persuade me to share my coffee with him last night."

Ellie snapped awake. "What the hell Tom, _you let Fred drink coffee?!"_ She groaned. It was going to be a very long day, especially since it had already started at the less-than-ideal time of 3am.

"It's fine, Millahr. Just once. It's not gonna happen again, I won't let him," came another familiar voice. A taller figure walked in through the doorway.

"Does the whole world take pleasure in interrupting my sleep on my special day, or what?" chided Ellie, trying to sound stern and irritated, but she was already having trouble keeping the smile out of her voice. Then she gasped, noticing what Alec was carrying.

It was a mini cake with a single candle on it.

"Happy birthday Mummy," chirped Fred from somewhere under the blankets.

"Thanks, dear," she said and looked at Tom. "Thanks for planning this, it's all very lovely, but next time please don't make it at 3am!"

"Uh, that was his idea, not mine," Tom replied, pointing at Alec, who put on a slightly guilty face.

"I wanted it to be early in the morning because the candle light looks pretty in the dark," he explained, embarrassed, his eyes shifting about nervously.

Ellie laughed. "Come _on._ I'm a bloody detective. Do you think I can't tell when you're lying? There's another reason why you guys woke me up so early, isn't there?"

He shuffled his feet around awkwardly. "Fine," he grunted. "It's because I wanted it to be the first thing you saw when you woke up."

"Actually, he planned for midnight, but Fred and me overslept," Tom chimed in.

Ellie stared at Alec incredulously. "You sacrificed your sleep for _me?"_ she exclaimed. "And it's only my birthday…it's not like I did anything big or…"

"He said he wanted to thank you specially for helping so much. He said he knew you'd say this, but he was very thankful for all your help so far. Oh, and he's also thankful that he met you, so he wanted it to be special," Tom informed her, very very unnecessarily in Alec's opinion.

She was extremely grateful that the dark room, lit only by the flickering light of the candle flame, provided some cover-up for the tears forming in her eyes.

"You're crying," Alec pointed out as the light flickered on her face for a split second, also very unnecessarily in Ellie's opinion.

"No I'm not," she insisted, trying to put on a cheerful voice, but her voice cracked at the last word. Hearing it, he anxiously set down on the nightstand the little cake with the candle still burning away cheerfully, and sat down on the bed next to her.

"Yes you are," he replied gently and wiped his thumb over the tear track running down the right side of her face. "Look at me," he said, in the same tone he used with Fred that night. She rested her gaze on those large hazel eyes, and suddenly, she found comfort in them like she never knew before.

"You're crying. But you don't have to be, because you, Ellie Miller, have endured things that nobody else could ever understand, and you are a strong woman, and I really admire your courage. You deserve to be happy for at least one day. Let me be one of those people who helped you to forget, just for one day. Can you do that? Can you be happy and smile, just for one day?" he pleaded, then stopped short, suddenly aware that he had said more than he had meant to. He twisted a corner of the blanket in his hands, suddenly finding it very interesting.

He almost choked to death when Ellie flung herself at him in a giant hug.

"I can't…breathe," he managed to choke out.

"Sorry." She let go of him, he suspected it was rather reluctant, and smiled at him. "Thanks. For all this."

"Good. I knew you'd like cake instead of a muffin," he said, misunderstanding on purpose. She hit him with her pillow, laughing.

And for the first time since she'd met him, she saw a smile spread across his face.

 _A/N: A part of me died inside while writing that last scene. Feels attack got me ;-; anyway let me know what you think of this! I really look forward to constructive criticism in the reviews all the time. Just don't be mean. Thanks to anyone who actually bothered to read this. I take great pleasure in writing, and it's my only other stress outlet, the first being orchestra practice. But that's beside the point. Chapter 12 will probably take longer because it's exam period now and I'll be really busy so I might not be able to update, hope you understand (: bye for now!_


	13. Chapter 13

_(Note: This chapter contains an OC that I didn't expect I would be adding! Just to inform y'all, just in case you are confused as to why there's an OC that isn't in the character list.)_

Alec awoke the next day to the ringing of his phone. He groaned and pulled the blankets over his head. He was still feeling really lousy from his illness, and didn't want to deal with anything at the moment.

The phone continued, more insistent with each ring, and he grumpily picked it up. One glance at the caller ID made him snap wide awake. He cleared his throat and answered. "Yup?"

"Hey Dad, it's me. Are you available to talk tomorrow?"

"Sure! But why so sudden? What's happened?"

"I just wanted a catch-up session. You know, chat about life, tea, that sort of stuff." She giggled like a 5-year-old hiding a secret.

"Why can't we just chat now?"

"I'd prefer to do it in person." She sounded mildly frustrated.

"Okay, okay. Would you like to come over or is there somewhere in particular you'd like to meet?" He gave in.

"I've booked us a table; I'll send you the restaurant address later. And Dad?"

"Yup?"

"Please wear something decent." She giggled again. "Never could stand those old T-shirts you wore around the house when my friends came over."

He grinned. "Alright. Take care, darlin'. I'll see you then." He hung up the phone without saying much else and went back to sleep, noticing that she had booked the table _before_ asking him. _She knew I'd agree,_ he thought. _Can't believe my baby's all grown up now._

Alec nervously straightened his tie as he waited at the table. He hadn't spoken to Daisy for ages already and he wasn't sure how this would go. Ellie had driven him to the place and given him moral support, but it didn't really help much. His persisting dizzy spells didn't really help either. He looked around, trying to spot Daisy in the crowd.

"Dad! You're wearing a _tie!_ " Someone greeted him very enthusiastically from behind. He jumped.

"Holy- Don't _do_ that! You know I've got heart problems," he admonished as he hugged Daisy back. "C'mon, sit down."

She sat down and crossed her right leg over the left. "Don't be shy, come here!" she insisted to someone standing a good distance behind her. The person came nervously forward, hesitating at the chair. "Oh, do hurry! He isn't going to bite you," she huffed.

"Sorry," he said and leaned across the table to shake Alec's hand. "Hi. I'm Alfie." It was clear that he was a bundle of nerves. Alec smiled to put him at ease. "Sure, yes. Nice to meet you. Always nice to meet a friend of my daughter's."

Alfie glanced at Daisy incredulously. "'Friend'?"

Daisy couldn't help grinning. "I haven't told him yet. Dad, he's my boyfriend!"

That sentence nearly sent Alec into heart arrest. " _What?!_ Why haven't you told me?"

"That's exactly what a catch-up session is for, isn't it?" she countered and stood the menu up on the table, hiding behind it. She leaned over to him. "Just be yourself. You don't have to be so nervous! He's my dad, not Smaug or something," she whispered to him behind the menu and moved back to her own side, deliberating on the various options. "I think I'll get a sandwich."

The rest of the afternoon passed pleasantly as they talked about their lives and what they'd been doing recently. Alec was pleased to know that Daisy would be graduating soon, and she had even gotten an offer to study in a university in Australia. She was really excited about it. He secretly hoped that she would do well and live a fulfilling, happy life, the one life he could never have. Even if it meant not seeing her again for another 3 years.

On the other hand, Daisy was horrified to learn that he had been hotel-hopping for a good while now. "Dad, you can't just do that!" she exclaimed, her eyes wide. She looked at Alfie. "He can't just do that!" She could only repeat herself in shock.

Alfie laughed. "Why not? If he can survive, it works, I suppose. Better than sleeping on the streets, eh?"

"You're right." She sighed. "So, which hotel are you staying in, at the moment?"

"Well, er, actually…" He cleared his throat. "You remember Ellie Miller? She was my partner in Danny Latimer's case. She offered to let me lodge at her place for a week."

Daisy let out a sigh of relief. "That's great. Where will you go when the week is over, though?"

"Erm…it's already been over." He adjusted his tie.

"What?! So you lied to me!" she blurted out hotly. "You _need_ to tell me which hotel you're staying in! That way, if you get in trouble, I'll at least know where to go to help you!" She was about to say more, had it not been for Alfie putting a calming hand on her shoulder. "Relax, I'm sure he's got a good reason," he said.

"You'd better have!" She glared at him.

"Actually…the week's already over, but I'm still lodging at her house. She wouldn't let me book a hotel," he grumbled. "I wonder why she hasn't kicked me out yet."

"Yeah, being the bloody big nuisance you are, it's amazing she's managed to tolerate you for so long," she teased. "But you can't live there forever. What are you gonna do when she eventually comes to her senses and kicks you out?"

"Hmm…probably just book a hotel again. Same old life, you know, hotel-hopping, doing what I need to. Oh! I have a friend in London, he's probably got a spare room for me, but I'm not sure," he suddenly remembered.

"A friend? Who exactly? What's his name?"

"Erm…John."

"That's funny." Daisy raised an eyebrow. "I don't remember you ever having a friend called John. And I've met all your friends at least once before. John who?"

"Erm…uh…John Smith…? You surely remember him; he's, uh, he's met you when you were, uh, a baby. That's why you don't remember." He fiddled with his tie.

"Dad, did anyone ever tell you you're terrible at lying?" Daisy leaned forward suddenly. "Don't lie to me just to make me feel better when you bloody well know it doesn't benefit anybody in the long run and that's exactly what I'm concerned about. You can't do this. You need a plan. You can't go living off someone else for the rest of your life. Rent an apartment or something. I don't know. Just do something!"

 _The truth is, Ellie and I, we're both okay with me living in her quarters, I never really planned for the future. I just always assumed it would be this way, and so did she,_ he thought frustratedly. _How do I tell her that?_

"You're right, darlin'," he replied at long last. "I'll go look for an apartment to rent. Although I don't know how I'm gonna pay for everything; I'm out of work."

"I can fix that," she said. "I've got a scholarship, remember? Not forgetting all that time that you were away, I got a part-time job. Got a good amount. You can have it," she said generously.

"Oh no, I couldn't possibly-" he began, but was cut off by Alfie.

"Sir, you'll have to," he insisted quietly. "I don't mean to be disrespectful, but…Daisy is right. It's not good living like this. Too many uncertainties. Better to settle down."

He threw up his hands in defeat. "Right then. I'll start looking for an apartment soon. But on one condition!" He looked straight at Daisy. "You let me find one on my own. Absolutely _no_ renting on my behalf, alright?"

She nodded, satisfied. "Let me know when you find one."

"Had a good day?" asked Ellie from the kitchen as she saw Alec walking in.

"Yes and no." He hesitated. He suddenly wasn't sure if he _wanted_ to tell her that he would have to go look for an apartment. For one thing, he was out of work and couldn't pay. Even with Daisy's money, it wouldn't be enough, and both him and Daisy knew it. And he didn't want Ellie to worry about him; she already had enough to worry about.

"Good for yes. Why no?" she asked.

"Nothing." He clammed up all of a sudden. "'M fine." His face said otherwise, though.

"Are you sure?" she asked, her maternal sensitivity kicking in. "You don't look like it. What happened?"

"Nothing," he growled. "I just made a rash promise and that's all, okay?

Next moment he got a shock, for Ellie had emerged from the kitchen in long, determined strides, crossing the entire kitchen plus half the living room in no more than 5 steps. She faced him directly. "You said there would be more trust and less secrets between us. If you don't want to tell me because you don't want me to worry, you're probably wrong, because I'd be better off knowing."

He sighed and leaned against the wall, defeated. "Daisy wanted me to rent an apartment. You know, settle down, live a proper life, that sort of thing. Trouble is, I'm really not sure that I can afford it, now that I'm out of work."

Ellie stared at him. "You didn't say yes, did you?"

The look in his eyes answered the question.

She slapped her forehead, mortified. "What'd you do that for? You could've told her you're staying with me!"

"I _did!"_ he yelled, frustrated. "She said I couldn't keep staying here because I'd be a burden to you!" He slumped down into a sitting position, leaning against the wall. "She's right," he muttered softly. "I'm a burden. Me, staying here, costing you extra for my living expenses, and I have this bloody thing…" – hitting his chest – "…that's probably gonna run you up a magnificent hospital bill some time soon." His voice became louder. "I can't even take care of myself. What an idiot I am. No, she's right. I should live on my own and stop burdening people." He stood up and walked towards the hallway.

"Where are you going?" Ellie called after him.

"Gonna search up an apartment to rent."

She ran after him into the room. "No, look here, you're wrong…" she tried to explain, but her tongue couldn't form a single coherent sentence. She tried again. "You're not a burden…"

"Yes I _am!"_ he roared, slamming his fist on the desk. "I'm a bloody idiot with a faulty heart who can't even take care of his own health, who couldn't solve a case properly, I couldn't even look after my own daughter, I'm just a burden and a waste of space on this planet. Name me _one occasion_ where I haven't been bothersome. And you know what? _I'd like to make someone proud for once._ I at least owe my own daughter some happiness, some relief or assurance of some sort that I can settle down myself, after all this hell she's gone through _because of me!"_

"But she's wrong!" she burst out, tears forming in her eyes. "Why haven't you seen it yet? We agreed that you could live here for a week. It's gotta be at least…what, 3 weeks now? I could have kicked you out, told you to find an apartment by yourself and never come and disturb me ever again, _if_ I did find you a bother. _But I didn't._ I let you stay because I knew you couldn't afford to live by yourself. I just wanted to help. You're not a burden, not to me anyway, Alec Hardy." She paused. "Don't you see? You're really worth more than you think you are. _To me."_

He sat down on the bed, grimacing from the little kicks his pacemaker was giving him, and buried his face in his hands. He didn't know what to reply. "Just…just give me some time, Millahr," he weakly said at last. Sadly, she nodded her head and turned to leave.

"But there's just one more thing you should know," she added as she stopped in the doorway and turned round to face him. "I _want_ you to stay here." She paused for a second, then turned and fled.

 _A/N: A longer chapter than usual! And yup, I've given my OC a cameo, although he will be reappearing briefly in other chapters as well. Let me know what you think. I really delved in deep into their minds this time, that's why this one is slightly longer (haha, "slightly") so tell me if you liked it or whether it was too out-of-character or anything. Till the next chapter (:_


	14. Chapter 14

_The next day…_

"I really don't know, though," Alec admitted, jamming his phone between his shoulder and right ear, trying to free up his hands so he could help Fred build his block tower at the same time. "I mean, she wants me to stay, and I want to stay, but…" He hesitated. "I don't think I can do it."

"What do you mean you don't think you can do it?" Daisy sounded confused. "If you want to, just do it. Anyway, it's not like you have many other options. Your previous hotel room got ransacked, right? How many other times has this happened?"

"Uh…" He stared at the ceiling as he tried to recall. "I think that would have been the third time it happened."

"See?" she pointed out. "You have to settle in a proper, secure place, with people around, so that you're safe. And since you have Ellie to help you, why not?"

He absentmindedly picked up a large block. "Well…I don't want to create extra trouble for her. She's got enough to deal with as it is."

"But what did she say even after you told her that?"

"She insisted," he said, remembering what had happened the previous day. He fiddled with the block uneasily.

Daisy giggled. "You must mean an awful lot to Ellie," she teased. "Think about it, Dad. She's probably happier with you around. You wouldn't be creating extra trouble at all if you stayed, not so much as if you left. Seriously, consider it. I gotta go, Alfie is coming over soon. Bye, love you Dad," she said and blew a kiss over the phone.

"Bye," he said, still rather absentmindedly. After that first part of Daisy's sentence, he hadn't been listening to anything else. He hung up the phone and placed the large block on top of the tower, which came crashing down. Fred gave him a chagrined stare. "Sorry mate," he said as he stood up decisively. He knew what to do.

"Millahr, I'm staying, I hope it won't be too much trouble, sorry for making you worried," he blurted out all in one breath, wide-eyed and nervous.

Ellie stared at him in confusion. "What?"

He sat himself down on her bed, twisting a corner of the blanket in his hands, and took a deep breath. "If you don't mind," he began again, "I would like to stay here. Is that too much trouble? It's not a good life, or safe even, skipping from hotel to hotel, and I need to stay somewhere permanently. Probably, if you'd like, I could stay here temporarily while I try to secure a job and rent a flat on my own."

She was having trouble digesting this. "I thought you wanted to leave," she faltered.

"Not anymore, no. I'm staying." He didn't want to push the matter further because it was making him very uncomfortable.

"Well…are you sure? You don't have to stay just because I want you to. I mean…you could…reconsider or something, I don't know…" she said unwillingly. Suddenly she threw down the pen she was holding. "Oh, screw it. You know what? You can stay, you yourself know you want to anyway. Why should I bother trying to convince you otherwise? Let's all be happy just for once."

And with that, it was settled. Alec rang Daisy to tell her that he would be staying here. Most likely, permanently.

But life wasn't so easy afterwards. They had a lot of trouble avoiding press attention and dispelling rumours. The fact that the press had previously rumoured them to be having an affair didn't help either, and it nearly drove them mad. Alec wondered whether Ellie knew what she was doing when she had practically begged for him to stay.

"I knew it would happen," she answered when he asked her. "But it's nothing, because friends are supposed to help each other out, no matter the cost. And as it happens, I rather think sleeping on the streets would attract more media attention than this, don't you think?"

He couldn't argue.

As life went by, they became more and more accustomed to each other's habits, although occasionally one of them drove the other crazy.

For instance, one time Ellie came home from grocery shopping to discover her kitchen a total wreck. Every single drawer and cupboard had been opened, the floor was scattered with flour and some other stuff she dared not think about, and there was baking equipment everywhere. At the dining table, Alec and Tom were happily cutting out some cookie dough while Fred was licking the bowl that they had used to contain the mixture. "I need an extra rectangle here," Alec was saying, and stopped short when he saw her. He suddenly became conscious of the mess everywhere. "Whoops," he said, by way of apology. All Ellie could do was let out a very long groan, plop her groceries down on the kitchen counter and start cleaning up the floor. "I said you could live in my house, not _destroy_ it," she grumbled, but turned all smiles again when they cut out extra cookie dough to make a big heart shape with her name on it in mini letters to make up for the mess.

There was also the time when he went into Ellie's room to ask her something, and found her sound asleep on the bed, taking a nap. On her nightstand was a bottle of sleeping pills. He shook his head, recalling all the times when he'd advised her not to use them too often, or else she would get addicted. He picked up the offensive object and put it in his pocket, and was about to leave the room when he heard a muffled voice from among the pillows. "Give 'em back." He sighed and told her, "I'm not gonna let you use these for naps. Only at night, you understand? You'll get addicted and it's not good for you." Without waiting for a reply, he left the room. It was almost irritating, the way she disregarded his advice about having a proper sleep schedule and not using so many sleeping pills. "Talk about being responsible for your own health," he muttered, and he heard a distinct call of "I heard you!"

Fred was his greatest joy. He didn't realise it then, but he helped Ellie to raise Fred, and whatever he had missed out with Daisy, he made sure he gave it to Fred, doing the best he could. His inner father figure came out, and honestly, Fred couldn't have asked for a better one. Even Ellie was surprised at how well the two got along and fit each other perfectly. It was the perfect mix of friendship and a father-child relationship. Over time, Fred grew to view him as his godfather of sorts, which Alec didn't really mind.

And unbeknownst to both of them, the states of each of their emotional health were slowly healing.

 _A/N: SO SO SO sorry for the long wait! I've been really busy with exams as well as writing Doctor Who fanfic for an episode for something special that I've got going on, on Instagram. And it was tiring but I finally managed to pull out time to finish off this chapter! To make up for it, I will update chapters 15 and 16 by this week. As always, reviews are more than welcome. See you in the next chapter!_


	15. Chapter 15

"Alec?" called Ellie, one lazy Sunday afternoon, frantically drying her hair with a towel. "I've got a last minute…thing, to go to, so could you help me mind the kids tonight? I won't be back till late."

"Sure, no problem at all," he shouted back from the living room over the sound of the telly where he and the boys were having a bit of bonding time. "I'll just be here; I don't think I'll be bringing them anywhere. Do you want me to stay here or can I bring them out for ice cream or something?"

"Just make sure they're alive when I come home. And the house has to be intact as well," she laughed, emerging from her room, all ready to leave. 'You boys be good, alright? I don't want any complaints from him."

With the sound of the front door closing, Fred jumped up. "I want ice cream," he said.

Tom groaned. "What'd you mention ice cream for? Now he's never gonna get the notion out of his head unless he gets some ice cream."

And that was how the three of them ended up blissfully strolling down by the river eating ice-cream cones.

Several hours later Alec was peacefully reading in the living room, having put the kids to bed. He sat at the bottom of the stairs, just in case he needed to be upstairs quickly. But the tiredness of having a hyperactive toddler to look after soon caught up with him, and he dozed off, head leaning against the railing.

"AAAAAAAHHHH!" He jerked awake with the sound of a terrified scream.

"What is it?! What's wrong?!" he shouted as he sprinted up the stairs. The screaming intensified and he traced it to Fred's room. He burst through the door and an awful sight met his eyes.

" _Oh, hell."_

Fred's nightlight had overheated and caught fire.

He scooped the frightened toddler up into his strong arms, dashed out of the door and laid him down on the grass outside, then called the fire brigade. He was dreading having to text Ellie, though. But it had to be done.

"Shh, Fred, it's gonna be alright. Just _wait here,_ okay?" he instructed sternly. Fred complied, nodding with his eyes wide with fright, still whimpering. Alec gave him a soothing hug and then rushed into the house to get Tom.

The fire had spread out from Fred's room across to Ellie's. Tom's room was at the end of the corridor. To get to Tom's room, he had to cross the burning barrier.

"Alright, here we go," he muttered through clenched jaws and dashed across into Tom's room.

"Tom! Wake up, the house is on fire and you need to get out. NOW!" he shouted, shaking Tom by the shoulder vigorously. He tossed a rather damp towel at him that he had grabbed from the day's drying laundry on his way in.

His sleep-filled eyes registered confusion. "What the…what's goin' on?"

"The house is on fire. Go!" Alec hissed.

Tom jumped out of bed in alarm. "What?!" Then he noticed for the first time the smell of smoke. He grabbed his phone and wallet off his desk and dashed out of the room, but recoiled at the sight of the fiery obstacle. Alec was already across.

"C'mon, Tom, just dash across quickly! It's scary, I know, but I've called for an ambulance and if you're hurt they will help you. I've been through this thing twice, it's not so bad if you go through this way." He gestured to the path he had taken, the least fiery place. "Please, just hurry!" The ceiling was about to collapse and Alec didn't want to have to inform Ellie of her beloved son's demise.

Tom's eyes widened. "I can't do it," he screamed. "I _can't_ do it!" Already, a huge piece of the ceiling was dangling precariously from just a sliver of cement. Any moment now, it would collapse.

" _Tom! Just do it before the ceiling collapses!"_ Alec screamed, begging him.

With a look in his eyes that Alec would never forget, Tom turned around and dashed back to his room.

The giant piece of ceiling collapsed, burning furiously, blocking up the entire hallway. There was no way he would be able to get in and rescue Tom himself now. Coughing, and unsure whether the real reason his eyes were stinging was the smoke, he turned and ran in the direction of the front door.

He ran towards a petrified Fred, who had curled up in a shivering ball on the grass outside, whimpering and shaking. "Where's Tom? Where's Mummy?" he kept repeating tearfully. Alec stooped down on the grass and gathered him up in one big hug, rocking back and forth to calm Fred down as the pandemonium went on all around them; sirens wailing, instructions being shouted, and worst of all, the loud crashing of the house collapsing in on itself.

All he could think about was Tom.

Pretty soon, Ellie arrived. The first thing she did after scrambling out of the car was run to Fred. "It's okay, dear. I'm here," she soothed, although it was obvious that she herself was a mess inside. Alec turned away from her. He couldn't bear it. He dreaded the moment and he squeezed his eyes shut, praying hard that the fire brigade would find Tom alive and well.

Ellie turned to him. "Where is Tom?"

"I…I'm sorry." He explained what had happened to her, and when he'd finished, he had never seen anyone look as devastated as she did in that terrible moment. She collapsed on the ground, screaming.

"Find him! Bring him back! I don't care how long it takes or how dangerous or how impossible, _just bring him back!"_ She couldn't remain calm for Fred's sake any longer. How could she? How could she still compose herself when her eldest son was gone?

She lay on the ground, her screaming subsiding into quiet, hopeless sobs, and Alec sat down next to her. He cradled her in his lap, quietly holding her, just being there for her. What else could he do anyway? It was the least he could do. He felt guilty, to say the least, even though he knew the fire was a pure accident. Right then and there, though, all he could do was comfort her the only way he knew. As she lay in his lap, sobbing, and Fred clung tightly to his other arm, he knew that he was the only source of comfort they had right now, and in this, at least, he tried to be his very best.

 _A/N: Hope you don't hate me after this chapter! I listened to the Broadchurch soundtrack while writing this, it helped a lot. I love the soundtrack, it's so haunting and emotional. Anyway, chapter 16 will be updated by the end of this week as promised. I look forward to your reviews! (:_

 _P.S. OMG I'M SO SORRY. I only just noticed a massive plot hole! Anyway, I've fixed that now, so sorry about it. :(_


	16. Chapter 16

It was one of the longest fire battles anyone had ever witnessed, but at last the firemen managed to put it out. Not the whole house was damaged, but it was still pretty bad. Part of Ellie's room, part of Tom's room and the whole of Fred's room were burnt beyond repair, as well as a bit of the hallway and a huge chunk of the ceiling were gone. Ellie didn't even feel like going in to survey the damage. What did it matter now? She could get a new house, at the worst, but getting a new Tom? That would never be possible. Glumly, she shoved her hands into her coat pockets and stalked towards the front door.

"Ma'am! Wait a minute!" She turned around to the sight of two paramedics struggling to catch up with her. They were panting.

"Yes? What is it?" she asked in surprise.

"We found your other boy, ma'am. The older one. He must have jumped out of the window of his room. He was on the grass, unconscious but unhurt. He should be coming round any moment now. Just a few minor burns. We carried him to safety, and we thought you might want to know that he's fine, that's all," explained one of them when he had caught his breath.

Her heart rate increased as she gripped the lining of her coat pockets. "Where is he?"

"Just over there, ma'am. You can…" He hadn't even finished his sentence before Ellie blurted out a quick "Thank you!" and took off running in the direction he had pointed.

As she approached the place where they had laid Tom out, she breathed a sigh of relief. Apart from an awful lot of soot covering his entire body, he looked fine, and she sat next to him, eagerly watching, waiting for him to revive.

At long last he stirred, and opened his eyes. "What's goin' on? Why am I here?" he grumbled, shivering, obviously not pleased that he was out in the cold in only his pyjamas and a towel blanket. It was still dark outside, about 3am, and the temporary concussion he'd suffered only made him more disoriented. He seemed to have forgotten that a big part of his room had caught fire.

Ellie pulled him into a hug. "You'll be okay," she mumbled, fighting back tears.

"I…can't…breathe…" he choked out. She pulled back. "Sorry."

"Isn't anyone gonna explain to me what the hell's going on…Oh." It slowly came back to him, the events of the night.

He remembered Alec's frantic screaming at him to just get out of the house. He remembered being too scared. He remembered thinking of an alternative solution at the last moment: jumping out of his bedroom window.

"It was risky, Mum, but it was even riskier trying to dash under a falling ceiling," he explained as he recounted what he had done. "My room is only on the second floor; it could have been worse. I remember looking down and questioning whether it was safe enough to make the jump or not. But the fire was catching up, it had already reached my bed, and I was between the bed and the window. If I didn't jump quickly, I would've caught fire along with that bed. So I jumped, but hit my head on something, and then everything went black, and next thing I know I'm here."

"Well, all that matters is that you're still alive," she said and smiled through her grateful tears. "C'mon, let's get back to the rest."

They walked back slowly to where Alec and Fred stood waiting, wondering why she was taking so long. As soon as they saw him, they almost collapsed with relief. "YAAYY!" shouted Fred and ran excitedly around him in circles. Tom laughed and swung him up by his armpits, something they loved to do.

"Ohh, I thought you were gone for good," Alec gushed with relief. "I was dreading having to tell your mother. But how did you do it?"

"I jumped out the window," he replied simply. They said no more, but grinned warmly at each other, and Alec gave him a congratulatory pat on the back. "Smart thinking."

The damage repair was possible, but it would take a very long time and they had to stay somewhere meanwhile. Ellie contacted her mother, who agreed to let the kids live with her for the time being. "But I've only got space for two, mind you. Your father alone is worth five men," she joked. "Anyway, there's only one spare room, which the kids can share. But you'll have to stay somewhere else, unless you want to sleep in the toilet."

"Thanks, Mum. As long as the children are safely settled, I can settle my troubles myself," she said and grinned. "The car wasn't hurt because I was out with it when the fire happened, so I'll drive them over as soon as I can."

"Alright. Stay safe, okay? Love you, bye." She hung up.

Ellie turned to the two boys standing next to her, mouths agape. "Well, what are you waiting for, then? Go inside the house and pack up. But pack only the important things!" she called after them as they took off running with glee. Staying at Grandma's house was a treat they didn't have too often because she lived far away, and right now they couldn't have cared less about whether their stuff could have fit in the car or not.

Alec turned to her. "What will you do now?"

"Oh, I dunno." She winced at the onslaught of a major migraine that had suddenly materialized at the thought of finding a place to stay.

He chuckled. "Now you know my pain. That's what I experience every time my daughter calls to check up."

"This isn't a laughing matter. I have nowhere to go," she complained. "My sister's very much in debt herself, as always, and my best friend isn't in this country. I can't be sleeping on the streets, can I?"

"Why not? You look the part," he teased, then sobered up. "If you really want to, I can help you get a hotel. Trust me, I've been hotel-hopping for years, I know the best places," he laughed.

"Really? Thanks, but…"

"But nothing! Just let me help you. You helped me find a place to stay, but now that's gone, so it's my turn to return the favour."

"Well…"

" _Please."_

"Fine, then," she said and rolled her eyes.

But Alec had by this time gotten to know her well enough to know that she didn't mean the eye rolling.

 _A/N: Here it is! Chapter 16. Hope you liked the cliffhanger of chapter 15 (although, looking at the reviews, I assume you guys loved it). Good news: I finished this chapter earlier than expected, so I might be able to update chapter 17 by this week as well!_

 _Also, some other announcements not really related to this chapter. This entire fanfic is gonna have at least 25 parts, I really hope you don't mind. The reason is that I wanted to take my time to explore their characters and slowly find out what they mean to each other. Otherwise, it would feel way too rushed and hasty and the character development would be sloppy. Up till now, though, I feel like there haven't been any changes yet, my apologies ;-; but I will make it happen, don't worry!_

 _Lastly, I noticed that I have viewers from Singapore. Guess what, I'm from Singapore too haha. If you guys don't mind, can you pm me? I'd like to know how you plan to watch season 3 next year because it's not going to air in Singapore unless you can watch British TV from here, which…I don't know how to. So yeah, much appreciated :')_

 _Sorry for the long ass A/N for this one! See you in the next chapter (:_


	17. Chapter 17

Ellie had just dropped the boys off at her mum's house and was about to drive back when her phone rang.

She sighed impatiently and looked at the caller ID.

" _Git"_

She answered. "What is it?"

"I've booked the hotel room for you already. I'll text you the address."

"Why can't you just tell me now?" she asked, puzzled.

There was a momentary silence before he replied rather awkwardly. "You'd forget if I just told you, wouldn't you? You'd have it in writing if I texted it to you."

"Fair point," she replied and was about to hang up when he continued.

"So, dinner later? My…my treat."

She blinked. "Sure. Let me know where."

"Alright then. I'll see you." There was a long pause. "Bye."

"Bye," she said.

She had just hung up when the phone started to ring again.

"What?!" she sighed, exasperated. There was another long silence.

"…Stay safe. I mean it, drive safely." There was an edge to his voice.

She glanced sideways at the phone. "Alright…"

But he had already hung up.

She made up her mind to ask him about his weird behaviour later during dinner, but soon forgot about it as she concentrated on driving.

And on the other side of the phone, Alec clutched his phone to his chest as he realised how thankful he was to be hearing her voice. _She could have been in her room had her friend not invited her over to her house that day,_ he thought and shuddered. He didn't know why he felt like that, it was the boys he should be thankful for, but he was relieved that she was alright.

Later that evening, while they were having dinner together, Ellie suddenly noticed something.

"Hey, when Fred screamed, you _ran_ up the stairs?"

"Well, yes, I did, of course," he replied, blinking. "Why?"

"And you ran back down, carrying him, and then ran back in for Tom?"

"Of course I did!" he replied, chagrined. "It's a bloody fire. Normal people act fast in emergency situations, in case you didn't know!"

"No, but my point is, the shock of the fire, all that adrenaline and all the physical activity should've knocked your heart out ages ago. Why didn't it?"

Alec leaned back, startled. He hadn't even thought about that question once before. "I dunno," he admitted.

A smile spread across Ellie's face. "It just means you're getting better!"

"But heart arrhythmia has no cure," he told her. "Either the pacemaker's bloody good, which it rarely is, or it was just my lucky day."

She shrugged. "Probably."

But long after they left, even when he was lying in bed, he was thinking about it.

And he realised the answer soon after. Throughout the whole thing, he hadn't once thought about his heart. He was only thinking of saving Fred and Tom. That was it. And he remembered other events when something similar had happened; when he'd had to act fast and the thought of his heart condition never even entered his mind once. When that happened, his heart didn't act up.

It was either the fact that he'd finally adjusted well enough to the pacemaker, or he just needed to face his fears.

He rolled over and was soon fast asleep.

Time passed, and Ellie managed to find a new house. She moved in as soon as she could, taking everything that hadn't been ravaged by the fire. It was a beautiful place, one that had a view of the ocean. There was only one tiny problem, though. Alec was afraid of water, and it was difficult trying to convince him to stay with them. But in the end, he relented, only with the condition that he stay in a room without the ocean view. "I don't fancy waking up to a view of my worst nightmare every morning," he said. "So either I stay in a room without a view, or a hotel room."

As soon as they had settled in, you could almost say life returned to normal. Ellie went back to her usual routine of work and fetching the boys back and forth from school and other extra classes, but without Joe. In fact, she wasn't struggling at all. On the contrary, she was doing a lot better without Joe around.

But only because Alec was there.

If he hadn't been around, she would've found herself struggling to cope.

And she used the busy routine of daily life to help her get distracted, even though that was ages ago.

In fact, you could almost say, Alec had _replaced_ Joe. Well, sort of. He and Ellie were adamant about remaining as friends and nothing else. If they had been a married couple, the only difference would be that they hadn't slept together yet.

Unknown to Ellie, who had seen Alec smile on several rare occasions, he was now falling asleep with a smile on his face most nights, something he hadn't done in years.

Unknown to Alec, Ellie was thinking of Joe less and less, and the nightmares now did not haunt her quite as often. There were even periods when she went entire weeks without thinking of him once.

At this stage, though, neither of them knew that they were helping each other to heal. Or at least, they could feel that they were slowly returning back to a normal, healthy emotional state, but didn't know why. They had pondered over it many times, but couldn't really figure out why.

 _It's probably because the case has already died down and people have forgotten about it. I'm not living in the shadow of my two botched cases anymore, and that's why I'm happier now,_ thought Alec.

 _What a good job I've got a new house. A change from the usual demons that haunt me in the previous house. Well, life's gonna be different from now on, and that's probably why I'm happier now,_ thought Ellie.

They were both only partially right, but it didn't matter. Not at this stage.

And for once, life continued to flow on smoothly.

 _A/N: So here is chapter 17! I always look forward to reading your reviews so please leave one. Anyone enjoying it so far? If it's getting boring please tell me and I will find a way to make it more enjoyable. I'm gonna be REALLY busy next week with school stuff so you might have to wait until next Sunday before I update again. Sorry! That's all for now, see you in the next chapter (:_


	18. Chapter 18

Ellie knocked on Alec's room door persistently. "You in there? Got any laundry to wash?" she called. There was no answer.

"Are you even awake?" she yelled. Still no answer.

She tried the door handle and found it unlocked. Muttering to herself, she pushed the door open and went in, finding no one inside.

She looked at the laundry basket lying in a corner of the room. It might as well not have been there, because there were clothes strewn all over the room.

 _Why does he have to be so messy?_ she thought and sighed. She began to move around the room, picking up clothes and piling them on her arm. As she progressed, her arm started to look like the Himalayas made of cloth.

As she picked up Alec's coat, something fell out of the pocket. She frowned and picked it up.

It was a jewellery box.

Out of pure curiosity, she opened it and gasped.

Inside was a beautiful sparkling diamond ring.

Her eyes went wide, but there was no more time. She heard footsteps. Quickly, she snapped the box shut, tossed it back in the coat pocket and threw the coat over the mountain of clothes on her arm.

Just in time, too, for just as she stooped to pick up another article of clothing, Alec barged into the room.

"What were you doing, Millahr?!" he asked, sounding frantic.

"Um…I was gonna ask you if you had any laundry, but you weren't there, so I kind of went in to check," she told him.

"Don't go through my stuff!" His voice rose. "For heaven's sake, I didn't give you any permission to enter when I'm not around!" He seemed to notice his surroundings for the first time. "Wait, you tidied it too?"

"It was a positive rat's nest. I had to," she countered.

"So…you didn't ransack my stuff?"

"No, why would I? I'm not that sort of person." Ellie sounded really confused. "Stop being so suspicious of me, I'm not even remotely interested in invading people's privacy!" She felt a little pang of guilt as she said this, but pushed it to the back of her mind.

"Good." He sounded relieved. "Thanks for tidying up my stuff."

"Yeah…sure." Ellie was still confused. "I'll just…leave, then. No dirty laundry?"

"You've gone and mixed it all up with my clean clothes. It's gonna take ages to sort out," he complained.

"That's just your own fault, isn't it?" She tossed the mountain of clothes onto the middle of his bed. "Why, you're messier than Tom! At least _he_ knows how to sort his laundry. You know I can't stand messiness in the house," she huffed and left the room.

"Well, if you didn't come in the room the first place…" he grumbled, but she was already out of earshot. He stood up abruptly and went to make sure she had already cleared off. He closed and locked the door, just for insurance. Then he went to the huge pile of clothes on his bed.

" _Shit! Shitshitshitshitshitshit,"_ he muttered through gritted teeth as he dug through the pile.

Finally, he found his coat and turned the pocket inside out. The tiny box fell out.

He hastily opened the box and was instantly reassured that the ring was safe.

He closed his eyes in relief and put the box away in his drawer. "There. Nobody'll be seeing the likes of _you_ for a good while," he whispered and smiled tenderly as he unlocked his room door and went out.

All through the rest of the day, Ellie couldn't concentrate on what she was doing and had to buy takeaway dinner because she burnt the food she was cooking and didn't have any time to cook more. _Why does he have a ring? Is he seeing someone? Who gave it to him? Or did he get it for someone? Why do I not know about this?_ She noticed that she felt strangely protective and slapped herself internally. _Oh, stop being so childish!_ she scolded herself. _I'm not in control of him._

She made up her mind to ask him about it soon, but then dismissed the thought because it meant that she would have to admit to going through his stuff. Well, technically, the box had fallen out of its own accord, but she shouldn't have opened the box. Still, she felt really unsettled because of it. Her curiosity grew, and she couldn't stand it any longer.

Finally, the next day, she decided to subtly find out.

"So, are you…seeing anyone?" she tried to ask as casually as possible.

Alec almost choked on his orange juice. " _What?"_

"I mean, it must have gotten pretty boring, you know. You've split up with Tess, right? Is there…you know, someone else?" She wasn't very good at sounding casual.

"Uh…no…? Why are you asking me this?" he asked, looking distinctly uncomfortable.

"Nothing. Just curious, that's all," she answered, a little too quickly.

"Oh…okay…?" He shifted around in his chair awkwardly, then left the table. "Gotta go. Work. Love ya. Bye."

There was a resounding crash as the plate Ellie was holding fell to the floor. She gaped at him in horror. "I'm sorry, _what?"_

His eyes magnified to the size of golf balls as he realised what he's just said. "Oh no. Oh, hell. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to say that. I…I was still thinking about Tess when…oh no…I…" He turned into a stuttering mess as he tried to explain himself. "I was still thinking about Tess and Daisy when I said that. You know. The usual habit before leaving for work. I'm so sorry." He snatched his coat from off the coffee table where he'd tossed it earlier and ran out of the house.

"Mum? Are you okay?" asked Tom, who had just appeared in the kitchen and found her standing there, frozen to the spot, next to a pile of shattered ceramic.

"Hm? Oh, um. Yeah, I'm fine. I dropped that by accident. Don't come over here, there's a lot of shattered bits that I have to clear up. You'll hurt yourself. Go sit on that side of the table instead." She switched to full maternal mode to cover up her shaky mental state. _What the hell was that all about?!_

Meanwhile, Alec ran along the pavement, not knowing where he was going or what he was going to do now. _Fuck. Why do you have to be such a bloody screw-up?!_ he silently scolded himself, and slowed down to a painful walk as he felt the pacemaker struggling to keep up. His legs carried him to the familiar cliff he visited so often, and he sat on the grass, panting and silently cursing himself.

 _A/N: Hey! I wrote the next chapter in a sudden flash of inspiration. I hope you like it! What do you think of this? Let me know in the reviews; your theories, your feelings, thoughts, any plot holes or mistakes I made. Anything, really! Oh, and I'm sorry if I don't reply to your reviews cos I don't always have time but I promise I will try to reply to you from now on. I love reading reviews cos I'm always curious to find out what you guys have to say (: so do leave one. I can't make any guarantees as to when the next chapter will be out because school is getting so hectic, but it will be sometime within the following week. Anyway, see you in the next chapter! (:_


	19. Chapter 19

Alec buried his face in his hands. He could not believe the level of stupidity he had just displayed back there and was well and truly mad at himself.

 _How about you just never open your mouth again, you useless fuck?_ he berated himself. He couldn't help it though. The scene had reminded him so much of when he used to live a happy life with Daisy and Tess, and it had been a habit for him to say "Love you" before he left for work. He had felt so caught up in the moment and hadn't thought before speaking. _What does Ellie think of me now? Oh, bloody hell. What a balls-up._ He had no idea how to fix this mess he had created at all.

Then he remembered the dating advice his best friend had given him, a long time ago, when he had been in a dilemma whether to profess his feelings for Tess. "Just be totally honest with her. Don't hide anything. At least, if she rejects you, it would be a burden off your shoulders," he'd said.

And it had worked out in the end, hadn't it?

Well, sort of.

Anyway, that wasn't the point. The point was that honesty solves everything and that he had to go back and clear up this massive misunderstanding that he'd caused.

Taking a deep breath, he stood up and started to drag his feet slowly back to the house.

Meanwhile, Ellie's mind raced as she cleaned up the pieces of broken ceramic. What the hell did he mean? Was it connected with the ring in any way? Had she caused any misunderstanding by asking? _Oh, hell._ She realised she could have led him to think the wrong way by asking in the first place. _Maybe that's why he got so flustered. Maybe it was a genuine mistake. I shouldn't have asked in the first place. Damn that ring, it started all the trouble in the first place!_

She made up her mind to clear up any misunderstanding that they had. For now, though, she wasn't sure where he had gone. She decided to ask Tom; the two had become great friends by now.

"He should be at that bloody cliff again," was the answer.

Ellie knew which one. He liked to go there when he was in a bad mood or when he needed to think things through; right now she didn't dare to question which one it was.

Plucking up her courage, she started the walk to the cliff.

Halfway there, she saw someone approaching. Squinting into the glare of the sun, she could make out that the someone was very tall and very skinny, and…well…

…very nervous.

The way he walked was almost as if he dreaded reaching wherever he was going.

"Millahr, is that you?" the person called.

There was only one person in the world who would call her by her surname.

She crossed her arms. "You had me worried! Where the hell were you off to?"

"That cliff, obviously, since you already knew I was here, or you wouldn't be coming for me."

"Fine." She admitted defeat. "So why did you come here?"

"I needed to think things through. I, uh. I'd like to apologise for any…you know. Anything that might have led you to get the wrong idea." He fumbled with his words awkwardly and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Oh?" She looked up at him in surprise. "I wanted to say the same thing too, that's why I came looking for you."

Alec chuckled. "Well then, I guess we're on the same page."

Ellie saw him shivering slightly. "It's cold out here. Let's get back to the house," she suggested, to which he nodded and started walking.

"So, you gonna explain what that was all about?"

By the time they had reached the house, they were both much clearer, and each went to their separate rooms with a much clearer mind and a much lighter heart. _So it was only the memories that caught up to him,_ thought Ellie with a surge of relief. She couldn't for the life of her imagine him meaning what he said. Strangely, though, she felt a tiny twinge of disappointment. But she pushed it to the back of her mind and went about her daily duties. As for Alec, he felt very much lighter, but somehow he felt that something wasn't right. A tiny voice at the back of his mind told him that it wasn't what he thought it was, but he ignored it and went about his daily routine as usual. For now, everything continued as it should be, and life returned to normal.

Well, _sort of_ normal.

Ellie still could not get the ring out of her mind. How did he get it and why? The question revolved around her mind and pestered her day and night.

She didn't know it yet, but she would soon find out. Not today, but soon.

One night, she was having a particularly bad dream.

 _It was Joe._

The words haunted her, echoed in her mind, they had come back again to disturb her. She thought she had left them behind for good in the old house, gotten a fresh start in this new house, but no. They had come back. Her demons had come back.

That same night, Alec couldn't sleep. He tossed and turned, but he just could not drop off. It was impossible. Sighing, he got up and decided to take a walk through the house.

As he passed by Ellie's room, he could hear her strangled cries through the half-open door. Worried, he pushed the door open and went in.

"Ah, I thought as much. Having another nightmare, are you?" he muttered and sat on the bed. He took her thrashing body into his arms. "It's alright. It's all over," he whispered, in hopes that it would calm her down, even though he knew she was asleep and wouldn't be able to hear him.

He sat there for a long time, holding her, the same way he'd held her on the cold, wet grass outside the burning house that day. It was the only way he knew how to comfort her.

She finally calmed down and he laid her back down. "Sleep tight, then," he said and smiled. She stirred a little, and he went back to his own room. Both were finally able to get peaceful sleep for the rest of the night.

Next morning, a grumpy Ellie stalked into the kitchen. "Didn't get enough sleep last night," she complained and yawned. "I don't really know why either. Must have been another nightmare."

Alec smiled to himself, his back to her. "Whatever it is, hopefully tonight you get to sleep better."

"By the way, I found my room door wide open when I woke up. Did you come in or something?"

He jumped. "Nope, must have been the bloody wind," he lied. "Kept me up all night. Didn't sleep a wink either."

"The sky is blue, penguins don't have knees and Uncle Alec is a liar," said Tom, appearing in the kitchen doorway.

"What?!" He jumped again.

"I saw you. I was coming back from the toilet when I saw you go in," Tom stated. "I don't know what you did in there but oh boy, you _are_ a liar." He giggled.

Ellie's eyes went wide. "What were you doing?!"

"Nothing, I just…argh." His tongue gave out and he took a huge mouthful of water from the cup he was holding so he wouldn't have to answer.

She shook her head. _What a git._

 _A/N: Here is Chapter 19! I wrote this up really fast because, well, I'm on an awkward study date with people I don't really know and I wanted to type something so I didn't look so awkward, and since I already had an idea for this, here it is! Leave a review and let me know what you think. Thanks guys (:_


	20. Chapter 20

One night, as he was sitting on his bed, the ring came to his mind. He got up and took it out, thoughts racing through his mind.

Why was it there? What was its purpose? How did it get there?

His thoughts went back to the time Ellie had driven to the grocery store to pick up a few things and he had waited in the car. After a while he'd gotten bored and poked around in the glove compartment. That was when he'd noticed the box and opened it. The ring had been inside.

The box had clearly been forgotten, because it was dusty as hell. He had actually sneezed when he picked it up. The ring inside, however, had not lost its lustre. It was still shining as beautifully as…well, whenever it had been made. He had made up his mind to ask her about it, but shoved it in his coat pocket and had forgotten all about it. Afterwards, he remembered, but didn't have the courage to, since that would mean admitting to poking around in things that he didn't have any business poking around in. And he wouldn't have liked to face a wrathful Ellie. Since then, he'd cleaned the box and kept it in his coat pocket and that way it would always be with him, with zero chance of Ellie finding out. He'd meant to put it back, but either didn't have the chance or forgot to do it.

And now, she'd almost found out. He had been so relieved when he checked and made sure the box was still in his coat pocket, that day when she'd been supposedly snooping around in his room.

He examined the inside of the box. The lining had once been a velvety red, but had already faded with age. The ring itself, though, could have passed for a new one. There wasn't much else to observe. He sighed and stuffed it back in the drawer. If she had a ring this beautiful, why would she have kept it in such a dusty old box and chucked it in a corner of the glove compartment, forgotten?

Unless it was her wedding ring which she couldn't bear to wear anymore.

That made perfect sense, of course. A wedding ring, taken such good care of that it was practically new, kept away in its original, dusty old box when the husband disappeared.

A knock on the door startled him. "Yep? What is it?" he called out, fumbling with the ring. He dropped it in his haste to keep it back in the box. "Oh, shit," he muttered.

Ellie entered the room. There was no time to look for it anymore. He would have to retrieve it later.

"Mind if I vacuum clean your room?" she asked, wielding the vacuum cleaner.

 _Oh, fuck._

"Sure," he said with a forced smile and went out. He sat in the living room, trying to distract himself with playing with Fred. As Fred ran his trucks up his shins, something he loved doing, Alec thought of how he would explain the ring being on the floor.

Sure enough, later on, after Ellie had finished vacuuming his room, she came out holding the ring.

"I've been meaning to ask you about this for a long time, actually," she admitted. "I saw it in your coat pocket the other day, when you walked in on me with a pile of your clothes on my left arm. You should take better care of such a beautiful ring, you know," she chided.

"Speak for yourself," he snorted. "I found this ring in your glove compartment ages ago. What is it doing there in a dusty old box?"

She stopped short. "What?"

"I figured, perhaps, it was your old wedding ring which you put away because of Joe. Is it?"

"Um. Nope." She showed him her right hand, which still had her wedding ring on it. It looked totally different from the one in the box. "If I'd put a ring in there, I would have known, wouldn't I?" she asked, which made sense to Alec, now that it had been brought up.

Alec stared.

"Wait…If it's not mine, and it isn't yours either, whose is it and why is it in your car?" he asked.

"I have no idea," she muttered, staring at it.

She picked it up to see if she could recognise it, but she'd never seen anything like it before. It was simple but elegant, modest but beautiful, a minimalistic design. Just a silver circle with a single genuine diamond on top, nested in the middle of a small disc of silver. Flanking the diamond on the silver disc were two tiny rubies, one slightly bigger than the other.

Alec squinted at it. "Have you fetched anyone in your car recently whom you know might own this ring?"

Ellie frowned. "Not that I can remember. I've only ever driven you and the kids in this car before. Oh, unless…" She seemed to remember something. "There was that one time, several months ago, I offered to drive my sister to the post office and back, could it have been hers?"

Alec shook his head. "A few months? That's it? That's not enough time for the lining to deteriorate to this state. Look, it's practically flaking off." He put the ring back in the box, and as he did so, a piece of the lining fell out onto his trousers, as if to prove his point.

"I don't know. Well, I'll ask around and see if any of my friends could have left it in my car by mistake, although I highly doubt so, because this car has only ever fetched my family, and you, of course." Ellie yawned and stood up. "I think I'll turn in for the night."

He nodded. "Alright, Ellie. Good night," he said rather absentmindedly, and turned bright red when he realised what he'd just said. Thankfully, though, she didn't stop him or point it out like the first time he'd tried to call her Ellie.

She chuckled and left the room.

Next day, Alec asked her whether anyone had replied anything concerning the ownership of the ring. She shook her head. "Nope, not now. I'll tell you when someone gets back to me," she said.

Finally, that evening, she had a result.

"I sent a picture of the box to them. My sister says it's my engagement ring box," she told him.

His eyebrows shot up in surprise, Ellie feared they would disappear off his face forever. "Really? Then how did you not recognise it?"

She shrugged. "I dunno. I guess it's been way too long. Why, I had that when I was 20, and how old am I now?" She laughed. "I suppose I conveniently forgot all about it when Joe left. I thought I'd gotten rid of all that stuff…I must have brought it along intending to throw it away, then left it in the glove compartment by accident."

"So the ring is yours, then?"

"Well, the box is definitely mine, but not the ring. I've never seen anything like that in my life, I swear," she persisted.

Just then, there was a knock at the front door.

Ellie got up to answer it, but there was no one there. Puzzled, she looked left and right, but there was no one there. She was about to close the door when she noticed something on the doorstep. She picked it up, a small piece of paper with a note hastily scribbled on it.

And as she read the contents, the tears sprang to her eyes and she felt sick to her stomach. She had to sit down. "Oh. Oh no. Oh, _fuck._ _This can't be happening. Tell me this isn't happening!"_

"What is it? What?" Alec called from the living room where they had been sitting. "Ellie, is everything okay?" He rushed to the front door where he found her sitting, leaning against the door frame, her face pale and her hands shaking so badly she couldn't hold the paper properly. It fell to the floor.

He picked it up and read it, and his expression darkened. "The fool," he muttered indignantly. "Don't worry. I will protect you," he tried to soothe her and put a comforting arm around her shoulders as she buried her face in his chest and cried.

 _A/N: So that's the mystery of the ring, solved! Or sort of. What do you think it is? Who do you think left it? How do you think it came to be in the glove compartment? Let me know in the reviews. I'll be updating chapter 21 soon. The next few chapters are gonna be a wild ride so hang on! Meanwhile, I really can't promise when is the next time I will update. It seems that whenever I say I don't have time to update, I update really early, and whenever I say I will update early, I don't, so I'm really sorry about that :P so yeah that's all for now. I hope you enjoyed it (:_


	21. Chapter 21

Alec took the paper in his hands and stalked back to his bedroom. He couldn't believe it.

 _Give me another chance. If yes, wear the ring. If no, be prepared._

 _-J.M._

"Ah, Joe, you bastard," he muttered grimly. He flipped the paper over, but that was all. There wasn't any more to it.

He smoothed it out and placed it in a Ziploc bag, then laid it in his drawer. _It might come in handy later._

He went downstairs to check if Ellie was okay, which he soon discovered that she wasn't. She was sitting on the sofa, still shaken up, trying to process what had just happened. He sat down next to her. "Remember, when we chased him out of Broadchurch, remember what Mark said to him?" he asked. " 'If you try and see them, if you follow them, if you go to their schools, if you contact them in any way, I will kill you.' I believe "them" includes you, too. Although you don't go to school. Anyway, it was a promise, okay? You have us. We will guarantee your safety."

She sniffled a little. "Thanks. It's just that…how long has that box been in there? How long has he waited? Why would he do this? And how did he manage to get into my car?"

Her questions hung in the air, unanswered. Nobody knew. They only knew one thing: they had to keep him away.

It was lucky that Tom was sleeping over at his friend's house, so he would probably be out of danger if Joe was targeting this house. But Fred was young and needed protection. Ellie sprang into action, pulling him out of preschool, explaining to the principal what had happened. That way, she would be able to keep an eye on him 24/7. She would educate him herself. As for Tom, she would inform him about it straightaway.

Just then, her phone rang. It was a call from Tom. "Hello?"

"Mum?" He sounded really scared. "I think Dad found me."

She froze on the spot. "What did you say?"

"I think Dad found me. I was out in the park skateboarding with Alan, and I saw him, and he was looking at me, and I freaked out and told Alan I needed to go home immediately. You're at home, right?"

"Yes, yes, come home _this instant._ Keep your phone on, okay? And leave my number on speed dial just in case. Stay safe, alright? Would you like me to drive you home?"

He sighed with relief. "Sure, Mum. Thanks. I'll be waiting at Alan's house."

Ellie sprinted to her room and grabbed her keys, briefly explaining to Alec what had just happened. "You stay here and take care of Fred, alright? And don't burn down the house. Literally. Please never let him out of your sight. I almost lost Tom, I don't want to go through the same shock again."

Alec nodded. "Alright. I'll do everything in my power to keep you and your family safe," he promised. "Just trust me. And Ellie?"

She turned around. "Yeah?"

" _Stay safe."_

She smiled. "I will try. Thanks."

And with that, she left to get Tom, trying to focus on the road and not think about how her name sounded when spoken in Alec's voice.

Ellie breathed a sigh of relief when she entered the house with Tom and found Alec playing with Fred in the living room. It had been so traumatic that she felt the constant need to see her family around her in order to be reassured that they were safe.

Alec looked up. "Ah, Tom. Nice to see you. You saw your dad, right? Well, it would help if you told me the details."

"I was skateboarding in the park with Alan, my classmate," he began. "I was at West Park. You know the big fountain in the middle?" Alec nodded, and he continued.

"I was just going round it, and as I turned, he slowly came into view. He was hiding behind a tree that was directly in my line of view and he was staring at me. I was positive that he was. He looked at me, and I looked at him, and I got so scared I fell off my skateboard and the fall was so bad that Alan thought I'd sprained my ankle." He paused for a while.

"When I got up again, he was gone, and I went around the area checking to see if he was still there but he was gone. That's when I got scared and wanted to go back," he finished.

Ellie pulled him into a hug. "It's okay, you're safe now. You did the right thing in coming back here immediately. You know, none of us are safe. Dad left me a note and a strange little gift. What you need to do is be very alert of your surroundings all the time. We all have to be. When you sleep, lock your room door and windows. And come straight home after school, okay?" She ended her barrage of instructions.

Meanwhile, Alec wandered off to the kitchen to get something to drink. He poured himself a glass of milk and leaned against the sink, draining the glass.

He noticed a rustle in the bushes behind the house.

He turned around to wash the glass and stared out the window, sensing something was very wrong.

He didn't know what was wrong, but his instincts told him that Ellie needed to stay inside the house for the rest of the day.

Alec bolted all the kitchen windows and ran to the living room. "Everybody get inside. Something tells me you're not even safe in your own living room. Get into a room, best if you all stick together," he ordered. They were too afraid to protest.

They stayed in the bedroom while Alec walked around the house, trying to see if there was anyone there. He couldn't find anyone, though, and after a while he went back in the house, telling them it was safe now. "I'd advise you to install CCTVs," he suggested. "It would help a lot. Get a burglar alarm, too."

Tom shook his head in disgust. "What does Dad want with us?"" he asked.

"He's desperate. He wants another chance. He wants us to forgive him," said Ellie. "But I think that's never gonna happen, and he knows it."

"I'm scared," Tom quavered and buried his face in Ellie's shoulder. She comforted him. "I know, and I am too, but we will stick together through this, okay?"

He nodded.

 _A/N: Here is chapter 21. It seems that the more stressed I am, the faster I update. I guess this has become my coping mechanism. But anyway, I'm pretty happy with this. Do let me know whether you like it too and what I can improve on! (: No guarantees as to when chapter 22 will come out. Probably on Saturday, because I'll be really busy with school until Friday. Ugh. See you in the next chapter (:_


	22. Chapter 22

Alec was supposed to have left for London that same day to meet up with Daisy, but he had to cancel.

"I can't meet you anymore. I have to stay here, it's really important," he told her.

"Why? What's happening?"

"Well…" He explained everything to her. "I can't possibly leave them here, it's not safe. I have to protect them."

There was a silence. "Are you sure?" she asked after a while. "I mean, family's always more important, right?"

"Darlin' I know you're upset, but we can always meet another time. Ellie and Tom and Fred are like family to me now. I can't just abandon them, not when they're in possibly the greatest danger they've ever been in," he explained gently.

"I'm not asking you to abandon them forever, Dad! It's just for a few days, you know, we haven't met in such a long, time, I was looking forward so much to this, and well…" Alec could hear her tears over the phone.

"I'm really sorry, I seriously am, but I really can't leave them alone. It's too dangerous. You understand my position, don't you? Ellie and I have been great friends for ages, and I can't possibly let her down, especially not when something like this is happening," he said. "Shall we postpone the meeting then? I will let you know when it's safer for them, and then we can still meetup, okay?"

Indignant silence followed. "Why do you have to care so much about her? She's just a friend. For goodness' sake, you _live_ with her. You see her every day. I don't have that privilege, and I'm your own daughter!" she burst out. "Why don't you just go and marry her already," she commented sarcastically. "Then I can at least stay with you. Have you mentioned me to her yet? I'm _sure_ she would _love_ to-"

"Daisy!" he yelled. "That was very inappropriate. You do not talk to me this way!" He ended the call and slammed his phone on his bed. It bounced across the mattress and hit the wall, cracking the screen.

Ellie came in. "Is anything the matter?" she probed gently.

"Nothing. 'M fine," he mumbled vaguely, even though his facial expression said otherwise.

"You don't look like it, but if you don't wanna talk, that's fine too.""

"Nothing, really. Daisy was just being an ass, that's all."

"Really?" Ellie was surprised. From what she'd heard about her from Alec, she seemed like the perfect daughter every parent dreamed of.

"Yeah. I was supposed to meet up with her, but I cancelled it. She didn't take it too well. Told her I could postpone, but she still wasn't happy about it. Made inappropriate remarks, which is something she hasn't done in years," he said and rubbed his face with his hands.

"Inappropriate remarks? What did she say?"

"Let's not go there." He was visibly uncomfortable.

"Alright then. But still…" She stared at him. "You _cancelled a meeting with your daughter?_ I thought you'd be overjoyed to be seeing her again!"

"Well, you know, I can't really leave you and the boys here alone can I? You're not safe, you know," he said without thinking.

"You should meet up with her! No wonder she wasn't happy," Ellie replied. "We can take care of ourselves. Go on, tell her you can make it."

Alec looked at his feet. "But you're not safe with that bastard prowling around! Who knows what he might do to you?" He sighed. "The thing is, I know you can take care of yourself, I just…well, I just felt like it was my duty to stay here and ensure he doesn't hurt you."

"What? No, it's fine, really. Go see Daisy. Family is always more important than anything," she emphasized.

"Well, you're like family to me now," he said roughly and stood up to leave, shoving his hands in his pockets like he always did whenever he felt awkward. "And right now this issue is way more pressing than a chat session with my daughter. I'm staying, period."

She stared after his retreating figure. "You…what?" But he had already gone.

Something struck her and she abruptly stood up to chase after him. "Hey! Wait a minute, come back here!" She caught up to him. "You should go."

"I told you I'm staying!" he exploded. "Geez, I'm trying to do you a favour and you aren't helping! 'Family is more important' blah blah blah. Well, you're like my second family right now and I can't let this happen to the only people left on this planet who have actually made me feel happy and help me rebuild my shitty life back to normal again!"

"Alright then." She nodded and quietly backed away. "It's your decision. Do what you want."

He gave her a frustrated glare and left the house.

She didn't need to ask to know where he was going.

Later on, after he came back, he went straight to Ellie. "Got this for you," he said gruffly and held out a pocket knife. "Emergency purposes. Keep it with you all the time."

She laughed. "You really think I'd need this?"

"Don't laugh at me," he grumbled. "Who knows? Joe Miller is a dangerous man, and as much as we all know how kind he can be, no one should ever trust someone who doesn't own up to his own mistakes. Especially when the mistake is accidentally murdering your best friend's son."

She sighed and took the pocket knife. "You're right."

"Don't forget, he's probably bitter that he got chased out," continued Alec. "He's an angry man now. That makes him twenty times more dangerous."

"Yeah, you're right again." She relented. "Also, I didn't get to tell you earlier because you ran off too quickly. Thanks for taking such pains to make sure the kids and I are safe."

"No problem, anything for a friend," he said and unexpectedly engulfed her in a huge bear hug.

A few months earlier this would have been unthinkable for him, but somehow at this moment, neither of them were too surprised.

 _A/N: Soo here's chapter 22 before I go off for camp tomorrow! I'm actually quite sad that this is ending soon because I had such fun writing it. I'm probably gonna write a Doctor Who fanfic if I have the inspiration, but I do find Broadchurch easier to write for. With DW, you really, really have to look out for plot holes and that's not something I'm good at. Uggghh. Let me know what you think of this chapter and how you think the story is gonna tie up, and whether I should do a sequel or not! ;) I'll be back with the next chapter on Saturday._


	23. Chapter 23

Alec frowned at the paper. He could understand why Joe had done such a thing, but as far as he knew, Joe was the kind of man who would directly say something if he needed to. He wouldn't have scared Ellie to death like this, considering he still loved his family a lot at the time that he left. But after a bit of thought, it kind of made sense because Ellie had refused to forgive him and probably never would. He sighed and walked out of the door.

Soon, he returned, having lodged a police report about this. Ellie and Fred were still asleep, and Tom was already at school, so he went to make himself a cup of tea.

The whole thing, all in all, was a baffling matter. As he pondered and sipped his hot tea, he suddenly had an idea.

When Ellie woke up, she went to the kitchen where she found Alec, deep in thought. She sat down next to him. "What are you doing?"

"I was just thinking," he replied absentmindedly. "About Joe. That bastard."

"What about him? Any idea where he is right now?"

"Nope…"

Later that afternoon, they went around the house installing CCTVs, first having checked whether Joe was around the vicinity. He wasn't, as far as they knew, and they hurriedly installed hidden CCTVs everywhere, each new one covering the previous one's blind spot so that nothing was left uncovered.

"This bloody sun," complained Alec. The perspiration left a giant spot on the back of his suit.

"Maybe you wouldn't feel so hot if you wore something other than that stupid suit," Ellie scoffed.

He just grunted. "Who are you to talk, Mrs Bright Orange Coat?"

"I mean, who the hell puts up CCTVs in a suit?!" she continued, ignoring him. "It's ridiculous. No one normal does that."

"Oh, so you're calling me abnormal now?" he retorted. "Thanks loads, Miller." He now only called her by her surname when he was pissed off or teasing her. Right now, though, Ellie thought it was safer not to guess which one.

"Didn't mean it," she quickly rebutted. "Seriously, though, get some other clothes. We need to go clothes shopping some time."

Soon, they were done with installing the CCTVs, and making sure that they were properly fixed and working, they went back inside. Ellie wiped the sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand. "Whew! We haven't had such a hot day in months. I'll go take a shower."

Alec settled himself down on the sofa, waiting for Ellie to emerge. Soon, he fell fast asleep. His heart, now having adapted to the pacemaker, allowed him to do more physical work, but his body was very unused to the sudden increase in physical activity. He was dead tired.

Ellie shook him awake. "Here, you might want to put these on. Might be more comfortable than a suit," she suggested and tossed a pile of clothes at him.

He stared at her. "Where'd you get these from?"

"Never mind all that. Just use them, I assure you they're perfectly fine to wear."

He grunted and stood up to go to the bathroom.

About half an hour later, he came out holding a soaking wet object. It was a piece of paper that had barely survived the water. He used the hair dryer to dry it, then straightened it out. The pen ink was only just legible.

Ellie came in. "Don't you normally just ruffle your hair dry? Since when do you use hair dryers?" she asked.

"Since I found this," he said and tossed the paper at her.

"Answer by tomorrow, 7pm. J.M," she read aloud, and her hand stiffened. "Oh, Alec, why is he doing this? He knows I won't forgive him!"

"It's okay," Alec reassured her, putting a comforting arm around her. "We'll see what happens tomorrow, okay? Get the boys home early and never let them out of your sight. It will be okay. I can handle it for you," he promised.

Ellie took a deep breath and stood up. "Thanks." Not knowing what to make of it, she went to her bedroom to try and sort things out.

Later, Tom phoned home to say that he would have to stay in school for extra lessons, because his exams were coming soon and he needed the extra revision. Without Tom's company, Fred was bored and fussy, trying to lay his hands on every single damn thing he set his eyes on, then complaining loudly when Ellie batted his hand away. "Boooooored!" he whined. "Want to go out. Want to go out!"

Finally, Ellie had a brainwave. "Fred, would you like to go shopping with me and Uncle Alec?"

He enthusiastically nodded, and both of them broke into a wide grin. "Perfect!"

A few hours later, the three of them returned back home happily, with Alec grumbling the loudest. "I look absolutely ridiculous in more than half of those damned outfits you even dare to call 'clothes' that you bought," he protested.

"Nothing much we can do about it now, is there?" Ellie smiled. "We've already bought them."

Alec rolled his eyes and folded his arms, but after a while grudgingly unfolded them again and took the bags from her so she could manage Fred.

Later that night, they couldn't sleep. As Ellie lay in bed, anxiously tossing and turning, wondering what horrors lay in store for her the next day. She wished she could stop time. But it wasn't possible, obviously.

Sighing, she went to the kitchen to get a hot drink and found Alec sitting at the dining table sipping some hot tea.

"Can't sleep too?" She pulled out a chair next to him and sat down.

"Yeah." He sighed. "I can't stop thinking about tomorrow."

"Getting a bad case of the nerves, are we?" she chuckled.

"What does it look like?" he snapped.

"Sorry. Me too, actually," Ellie admitted with a groan. "I'm just so scared."

He took her hand reassuringly. "I'm just as scared as you are, but we can get through this horse shit together, eh? We will do what it takes to get rid of him once and for all. Alright?" he persuaded her gently.

Ellie smiled because she knew one thing. No matter what danger she had to face, if she was facing it with this man, they might not necessarily be safe, but she would be brave enough to get through it.

 _A/N: So I finished this early. I managed to finish this during camp because we were playing an apocalypse-like game and I got caught very early on (HAHA) and I had to wait for everyone else to finish while in the holding area so I typed it up while bored. And surprise, surprise! For once the school wifi had a decent enough connection for me to upload this so here it is! Let me know how you think this is gonna be resolved. (oh boy have I got a MASSIVE surprise for you.) Also, I can confirm that this story will have 25 chapters, with chapter 25 being the prologue. So technically the next chapter is the last, but guess what? I'm going to do a SEQUEL :D See you in the next chapter! (:_


	24. Chapter 24

Throughout the whole of the next day, Ellie was all nerves. She kept Fred indoors all afternoon on a TV marathon to keep him entertained, and told Tom to wait outside the school later; she would drive him home.

Alec had to buy dinner because she was too nervous to cook.

At 7pm, the doorbell rang.

Ellie pushed back her chair with an air of determination. "I can't let him know how scared I actually am, can I? He'll use that to his advantage."

"Don't let your fear get to you." He gave her an encouraging pat on the back, and she nodded and went out to the front door. Alec hid just round the corner to eavesdrop and he grabbed Tom's baseball bat on the way there, just in case.

"What do you want?" he heard Ellie ask coldly.

"You know what I want. You saw my notes. Do you have an answer?"

"It surprises me that you would even try. You already know what my answer will be."

"I have to confirm it from you, don't I?" Joe argued back. "I don't want to force you into-"

"Says _you!"_ Ellie exploded. "Who forced me into this hell of a life? Do you think I wanted this? There are times when I miss the old you, the old us, but then I think of what a monster you'd been. You forced me into living with a murderer. Do you think anyone wants to live with a murderer under their own roof who didn't even have the decency to own up to his own mistake?"

"Now, Ellie, my dear, calm down…" he began frantically.

"Don't call me that!" She hated the way her name sounded when he said it. "And I'm not _your dear_ anymore. Don't fucking call me that. And how do you expect me to calm down when you've been stalking me? How do you expect me to calm down when I can't even trust you not to hurt me anymore?"

"I still love you and Tom and Fred. I wouldn't ever hurt you or them. But that's beside the point. I am looking for an answer, and I want an answer." His voice suddenly became much firmer. "Do you want me back or not?"

Ellie rubbed her hands over her face. "Why are we even doing this? You know the answer is no. We've already even gone through all the divorce proceedings! We're not even married anymore!"

"That's why I'm asking for a second chance. Please."

"I'm done with you," she sighed. "Please leave my house. I already said no. I don't know if I can trust you. How is anything going to work out without trust? Right now if there is anyone on this planet who doesn't deserve my trust, it's you."

Joe knew she was right, but he continued trying anyway. He wasn't one to give up. "Please. I miss the old life, I really do. I won't make the same mistake again."

"No can do, I'm afraid," said Alec's voice as he emerged from behind the corner he'd been hiding at. "You, get the hell outta here before I call the cops. Oh wait, I am one. Now, stop pestering her and bugger off."

Joe stared at him in consternation. "You! This isn't your business, so leave your sorry ass out of it!"

"Oh, I'm very much afraid it _is_ my business," he replied in all seriousness. "Not about to let my _wife_ come to harm, am I?"

"What?!" Joe gasped in shock. "Ellie, why didn't you tell me?"

"Why should I tell you?" she said, having caught on. and smirked, playing along. "We have been _happily married_ to each other for a few months already. When I told you I couldn't give you a second chance, I meant it literally. What makes you think I'd tell you everything now anyway? There's no need for me to do that."

"Yep. So I suggest you get your shitty ass out of here. Stop harassing her. And I warn you, if you harm her, you're in for it."

"You're _married?"_ Joe asked, obviously thoroughly puzzled now. He glared at Alec. "You're lying. Seriously? Married? I'm afraid not."

"I'm afraid so," Alec said and flashed his left hand where a silver circle glinted mockingly in the sunlight. "Now bugger off before I call my ex-colleagues."

Giving Alec one last glare, he turned around and fled.

Ellie shut the door with a bang and double-locked it. "Whew."

Alec heaved a huge sigh of relief. "There, that's over now. If he comes back when I'm not around, give me a ring."

"You already have one," she joked, pointing to his left hand. "By the way, what the hell was all that about?"

"He was harassing you, I couldn't just stand there and watch him do that!"

"Yeah, but…seriously? You _had_ to tell him we're married?"

Alec chuckled. "Well, for one thing, if it works, it ain't dumb, right?"

"Fine." Ellie rolled her eyes and smiled. "But where did you get the ring from?"

"I bought it."

"Why would you buy jewellery?" she questioned him. As far as she knew, he certainly wasn't the flashy type.

"Because I wanted to. Oh, wait, there's something else I forgot." He squinted at the ceiling for a few moments, fishing out something out of his pocket. "I've got two of these beauties. Want the other one? I only have one left hand."

"Don't be ridiculous," she began, and then stopped.

"Here, look, it's fine. See? Isn't it a beauty?" He held it up and the ring sparkled in the light.

"It does look amazing," she breathed. "But why'd you get two?"

"Cos I wanted you to have the other one." He grinned at her. "You know, when I made up that lame excuse to save you from Joe, I wasn't entirely wrong."

"What?"

"I'm not married to you now, but in a few months I will be." He took her left hand and slipped off her previous ring, then replaced it with the one he was holding. "But I've gotta ask you first, haven't I? A wedding doesn't work if there's only one half."

"You're such an idiot. Why am I marrying an idiot?"

"Because the idiot wants you to, and admit it, you know you want to," he teased.

"Which makes me an idiot too, then." She laughed. "Of course I will, you stupid knob."

"Oh, shut up," he said and pressed his lips to hers.

She did not resist.

 _A/N: GUYS_

 _I AM EXCITED_

 _I just had the best idea ever for my Doctor Who fanfic so if you want to read it, keep a lookout! I'm gonna start writing it after I publish this chapter. So I'm really sad that this has ended but there is still a prologue and a sequel to go, which is some consolation! I ENJOYED WRITING THIS SO MUCH. Leave a review with not just your opinion but also anything you guys want to see in the sequel. As always, see you in the next update! (:_


	25. Epilogue

Alec stood on the porch, holding a cup of hot tea, leaning against a pillar. Life had treated him very well since he and Ellie had decided that they were right for each other all along; perhaps that was what, all this while, his life had been leading him up to. _If I hadn't embarked on the Sandbrook case, I wouldn't have come to Broadchurch at all, and I wouldn't have met her,_ he thought. _I sure am fortunate._

Ellie came out to join him. "A penny for your thoughts?" she asked, leaning her head against his shoulder.

"I was just thinking how fortunate I was to have met you," he said and grinned back at her. "Now, where's my penny?"

"Haven't got one, sorry. This will have to do," she laughed and planted a kiss on his shoulder.

"You stupid arse," he teased. He squinted out over the landscape at the glowing sun, about to retire for the night. "The kids are alright?"

"Yeah, Fred's taking his bath. He's old enough to do it himself now."

"You should still supervise, though. Kids drown in baths all the time."

Ellie sighed. "Just because you're afraid of water…"

"It's true," he insisted. "I've got statistics to prove it."

"Fine, fine." She held up her hands. "Anyway, I'll go and finish up some work I've got. How's that new job of yours?"

"Oh, it's fine. Boring, but fine. Hey, I've got good news though." He paused a while.

"What?"

"The Scotland Yard allowed me to work with them."

"Oh, that's great! You do like detective work, don't you," she said, truly feeling happy for him. "But what about your heart condition?"

Alec just shut his mouth and winked at her. "Managed to get that one out of the way. Won't say how, though."

"As long as you're not compromising your health," she said, worried.

"Uh, Mum?" called Daisy's voice from inside. "I need a little help here."

"Coming!" she yelled back in reply, and smiled. "Gotta go. Your daughter requires my assistance."

"Hey, she's your daughter too!" he said and kissed the top of her head. "I'll see you later, yeah? I'll just be out here if you need me."

He sat down on the steps and cradled the cup in his hands, staring at the starry sky long after the sun had gone down.

 _A/N: So here's a short little fluffy epilogue I've put together! I just realised in the previous chapter I might have typed "prologue" instead of "epilogue" and I don't know why at all. I hope I didn't. Also, sorry about the long delay, I was stressed with school work and put this on hold. But here it is! Meanwhile, I will be doing a sequel! The first chapter of the sequel will be out on either next Tuesday or Wednesday so do keep a lookout for it. A big thank you to all the readers and especially those who put this story on favourite, I don't know why anyone would do that but thanks! And thanks for all your reviews too, sorry I didn't have time to reply regularly. Looking forward to see you in the sequel~_


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